Safe and Warm
by Shadow Dragoness
Summary: The night drags on, the tense hours pass, and all I can do is wait for him to return to me... For everyone who wanted L to come home safely after the Kira case. LxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello fellow writers and readers of this site of fanfiction!**

**This was a simple attempt at writing something each day that got incredibly out of hand and has taken me a week or two to complete. It's not the first time that something like this has happened, but still, I believe it's too massive to remain a one-shot like I intended and has now turned into at least a two-chapter project. **

**This has what has slowed the continuation of Tropical Torment. I have one other story that's almost completed, and then I will return my attention to my first before too long. Hopefully I haven't lost any of my readers in the process. **

**I just wanted to try appealing to a bit of a different audience **

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**And get a little fan-girly with my love of L from Death Note. :3 I am indeed a fan of his.**

**Following up on how I said it got out of hand, I believe near the end my heart wasn't really in it all that much anymore, at least with not the intensity that I'd started with. I feel like I kind of lost track of what I was doing by that point, but still, I think it's worth posting if just to get feedback on what I **_**DID**_** write. And I'm pretty happy with that I came up with. So lemme know what you think, what you loved and what you thought I could've done better! Reviews are love. :)  
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**Thanks again! And Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Death Note and L belong to its creators, Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba.**

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**Safe and Warm**

**Chapter 1**

Time was passing but I didn't care.

Time seemed to exist outside of my little bubble of anxiety and attention.

I was so alert, you don't even know.

The atmosphere was the sort that would alleviate any sort of tension or turmoil, but it had very little effect on me. I was warm but not uncomfortably so, for the temperature of the room was ideal and my clothing wasn't suffocating or constricting in any way. My stomach was full and an undeniably delicious, sugary taste lingered within my mouth. I was satisfied on a basic level by the undoubtedly wonderful meal of gourmet treats and cakes that now resided sweetly within my stomach. I was lying upon my side, curled up in a tight little ball upon a black leather sofa. I was so tired, but I knew I wouldn't fall asleep. I _couldn't_ fall asleep, not until...

My eyelids began to droop, startling me and making me jump with surprise. I licked my still-sugary lips, blinking furiously and trying to remove the sleep from my eyes. I didn't know how much longer I would have to wait, I had no idea whatsoever. The uncertainty was maddening, but I refused to succumb to any hindrances that attempted to get in the way of the promise I had made earlier. I wouldn't fail, not now...

I growled quietly to myself when my eyes dropped closed yet again without warning. Pushing myself up from my reclined position upon the sofa, I curled myself up in a blanket just for the heck of it, wishing for the feel of some sort of loving embrace and finding very little in the stretch of fabric. I shuffled into the kitchen and took a sizeable chocolate cake from the fridge. I set it upon the table and pulled up a chair, drawing a fork out of the drawer and simply digging in. I knew it wouldn't be a problem for anyone, my reckless denial of the proper etiquette concerning shared foods, especially since I had worse things to worry about. Either way, I needed more sugar. I wolfed down seventeen forkfuls and pushed it away across the table, resting my head on my arms and glancing at the clock above the stove. 3: 30 am. I groaned quietly, though it was short-lived with the sugar rushing through my veins.

I got up and paced around the couch for a while, holding the blanket close around me, wishing it was warm and strong and safe just like – but I could hardly think it, in the event that...that I never... I ran back and ate twelve more forkfuls of cake, accidentally and thoughtlessly smearing my mouth with chocolate frosting and not bothering to wipe it clean. I didn't care at this point. I sighed heavily and clenched and unclenched my hands for a while. I lost track of time once again, not bothering to pay attention to it. It somehow became 5: 45 am. I somehow finished the entire chocolate cake. I somehow found myself lying upon the striped armchair that...that he always sat in, when we were working or... It smelled like him, worn soft and smooth by the time he'd spent sitting in it. The curtains were still dark, the city outside still asleep. I felt as if I was the only one awake – no, the only one alive, especially since I wasn't all that awake.

It had been almost two months since I'd seen him last... My heart had a hollow sort of ache that no amount of sugary confectionary could fill. I sighed again, dropping my head heavily within the circle of my arms against the knees of my curled legs, letting the silence and the darkness have me. The TV was on, but it was muted. The flickering light was oddly soothing, reminding me of the many surveillance videos I'd watched recently and making me think of him... It took me a while, seeing as my mind was getting quite exhausted and dysfunctional, but I noticed through my closed eyelids that the light pattern had remained strangely consistent. I looked up, curious to what one scene would be occupying the news for so long.

_And my blood ran cold._

Despite the hour, despite the circulated sugar leaving my system, and despite the lethargic fog enclosing my mind, I was completely and utterly _awake_.

I recognized the all-too-familiar insignia adorning the pale screen.

Four mockeries of Old English font.

One word, known around the world:

_Kira_.

I lurched and grabbed the remote, allowing the sound to return to the room and inform me of the blasted name's presence on my television screen. A reporter's monotonous voice filled the air around me, swirled throughout me, dove deep into my soul as I dug into his armchair with anxious fingernails that more closely resembled claws.

"_...has now been revealed to the public that the mass murderer known as Kira has been apprehended by the Japanese police force. I repeat: Kira has been captured. The investigator leading the pursuit was none other than L himself. This adds to his impressive record of solved cases, a number that is in the triple-digits without a doubt. I repeat: Kira has been captured..._"

I couldn't breathe. My relief had left me in such a ragged, crushing gasp, I lacked energy to even attempt to take in another lungful of air. Words deserted me. I gaped at the television without seeing the shots of the various testimonies of the members of the Japanese police force. The flickering lights didn't make my eyes respond in the slightest. I knew they wouldn't show Kira's face. And I knew they wouldn't show the face of the man I was truly interested in. My world seemed to slow to a bit of a halt.

I was waiting, utterly and completely waiting.

And then I heard it – the quiet footsteps in the hall, the quick insertion of the key in the lock, the smooth turn of the knob, and the barely-audible creaking of the door being pushed open.

Holding my breath still, I slowly turned my head and looked with wide eyes behind me into the slight darkness as the distance away from the television let shadows gather at the edges of the space that was currently inhabited.

I looked at the figure standing, slouched and silent, just within the room with me.

My heart stopped beating for just an instant – and then I launched myself out of his chair, barreling around it as fast as my legs could carry me, as swiftly as my lungs could take in and spit out air. I moved more in that moment than I feel I'd ever moved before. My feet barely seemed to touch the floor – I might as well have flown to him. The distance between us closed more and more like a dream, a dream that I was almost afraid of with how many times I had had it without it being real. But that didn't slow me down. I lunged toward him, another ragged gasp tearing from my trembling form as his long but strong arms spread wide to embrace me. His wrinkled white shirt shifted and slid across his pale skin with his movements. His legs, loosely-enclosed by a worn pair of simple and baggy denim jeans, carried him forward toward me with one determined, intentional step, his bare feet almost seeming to whisper across the carpet.

My heart screamed with heavenly delight as my body contacted his and he didn't disappear. His warmth and solidity and substance made all of the worries and pain and fear that had festered within me throughout the course of the many long nights without him simply vanish. I could almost feel our hearts beating as one as I locked my arms around his neck, holding him as close as I possibly could. His heart was beating – _his heart was beating. _

_Still beating._

It was such an unbelievably wonderful thought.

He lifted me off of the ground, spinning me around in a series of circles, my momentum from my earlier travels resulting in his back colliding with the door and pushing it shut behind him, the two of us slowed to an abrupt but unproblematic stop. We sagged against the door, our breathing uneven, our positions rather unbalanced and uncoordinated but still in contact. Still he didn't release me – his arms stayed wrapped around me, enclosing me within their strength and security with such certainty, it felt as if he would never let me go again. I wasn't certain how true that observation was, but I brushed it and all other things aside. I concentrated on the feel of him against me, of his body heat seeping through our clothing and washing over me, his tangled black hair brushing so softly at my bare arms where they were wrapped around his neck.

I could smell him now, his familiar scent of the fabrics of his clothing, of chocolate and various other sweets, of the old papers of the files he'd looked through, of the clean leather of the limo he'd most likely ridden to get back to me, and most of all, of life. He was alive. He was _still alive_ and he was _still mine_. I couldn't think it enough. Tears welled within my tightly clenched eyelids, spilling down my smiling cheeks as my jagged breathing continued to rip through me. He was so much better than a blanket – he held me more warmly and more safely than anything else could. Of that, I was certain. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, feeling his smooth skin against mine where the collar of his shirt failed to cover it, and against him, I cried. I cried against the reason I was crying – but they were tears of relief, of joy, of such euphoria and bliss.

"_Thank God_," I gasped against his chest, my entire body shuddering with relief. I felt his grip upon me tighten in response, his hand moving slowly, softly, consolingly against my back, making small chills ripple at the base of my spine.

"I do...when I'm able to return to you, after all the past few months has revealed," he murmured in a low, almost-whispering tone against my hair. It was the first time his wonderful voice had graced my ears since his arrival, and I relished it with every chamber of my heart and all of the marrow in my bones. It seemed to pour deliciously across my skin like an enlightening, sensual rain, making my bottom lip tremble slightly with pleasure as a few more tears dribbled from my eyes, no doubt splashing softly upon his neck. He sounded almost as incredulous and unbelieving as I felt, and the thought made me simply smile wider with delight.

I held him for a period of time that I didn't bother to keep track of and he held me back, his arms still a sanctuary that I had no intention of leaving, his long white hands gripping me tightly and holding me together as I happily broke down. We remained against the door, not bothering to move. I listened to him breathe, felt his warmth and his softness and his strength, and tried to believe that the one I loved was really there, safe and secure in my arms.

"It's truly extraordinary...to be alive and here with you now..." I heard him murmur softly, speaking aloud the thoughts that I had slightly lost in the heavenly symphony that filled my head. It made my heart swell to hear the truth in his voice, the wondrous love for me and the immense gratitude that we were still together.

"It almost seems impossible," I whispered against his skin, a small drip of ice slipping down my spine as the twisted, mockingly-lettered name flashed through my mind. ..._Kira_... I was aware of some of the details of the case, though the last few weeks were a mystery to me. It had gotten to the point of me knowing anything else being dangerous, and he'd wanted me to stay safe and get involved as little as I could – I'd refused to completely stand back and let him go, seeing as we'd discussed different aspects of the case for hours on occasion, but all in all I'd respected his wishes. My limited knowledge of the Kira case made me aware, to some extent, to how very lucky I was to be holding him right now. It still seemed so hard to believe that we were together again and that everything was all right.

"Almost..." he agreed quietly, sharing my incredulous doubts that were fading more and more as this lovely reunion continued. I felt him smile against my hair, his delicate fingertips trailing down and up the length of my spine multiple times, making me shudder with still-unbearable delight. I couldn't resist any longer – I pulled back enough so that I could look at his face, my movements making his hand cease in its travels and settle warmly on the small of my back. He looked at me with deep black eyes, like flawless, undisturbed pools of liquid ebony. They drank in the sight of me with relish, drawing me into their endless depths, washing their wonderful warmth over me. They were so simply expressive, clearly depicting his heart-felt emotions despite their usually secretive appearance. I saw his immense relief at safely returning home to me. I saw his glowing euphoria as he stared back at my smiling, tear-streaked face. I saw his love as he savored the sight of me, seeming to see all that I had been and all that I was with him now, slipping deliciously into my soul where I had nothing to hide.

The shadowed bags beneath his eyes were prominent, revealing that he'd been worrying and thinking deeply and had therefore had many sleepless nights, just as I had had lately, but also just like me he seemed none too concerned about them now. His tangled hair was the same dusky hue as the nighttime heavens above us, spreading out in an unpredictable mass of countless black spikes atop his head that glossily reflected the light from the television that neither of us were paying any attention to. His skin was pale and perfect, not disturbed by blemish or scar, a flowing expanse of firm, sculpted ivory flesh that never ceased to appear distractingly able to be caressed. Fresh tears sprang to my eyes at the wonderful sight of him as I traced his lovely features with my mind, unable to look away from him.

"I just... It seems so unbelievable, that you're truly here..." I muttered quietly, smiling with my slight embarrassment as I laughed softly, lowering my head the smallest amount. Despite my usually-reliable grasp on logic and reasoning – my ability to feel him holding me so tightly – it seemed so difficult to apply the laws of reality at this time. My breathing strayed even further from its uneven course when I felt his hand against my face, his pale fingertips delicately trailing along my jaw and tilting my face up to his. My heart rate increased when I comprehended just how close I was to him – it wasn't a new realization in and of itself, but it dawned on me that the atmosphere of our embrace had changed ever so slightly. As I stared at him, my cheeks reddening a bit more, he smiled at me, his smooth pallid lips spreading, revealing his glimmering white teeth. The sight was so beautiful that it made my very breath catch.

"Well, then perhaps you are in need of convincing..." he murmured, his voice containing subtle undercurrents of amused anticipation and gleeful knowledge of possibly-mischievous intentions that I did not possess, though the core of his tone masked the emotions well as it so often did. My pulse quickened even further as he brushed his thumb across my cheek near the corner of my mouth, removing a small smear of chocolate frosting that I had missed earlier and glancing at it with interest for a moment before audibly licking it off of his finger with a pleased smile.

"...And I may have need of it, as well..." he said after a pause, his tone more intense than before as he stared at me, the blackness of his eyes heating hungrily. I stifled a shiver as his hands moved once again to my face, his fingertips curving around the corners of my jaw, delicately holding me steady as he tilted my face the rest of the way up to his. As he began to lean toward me, he applied minor pressure upon my chin with his thumbs, helping my lips to part ever so slightly. My heart was pounding now, my breathing quiet and weak. His shadowed black eyes flashing was the last thing I saw before I let my eyes slip closed in surrender. I tasted his breath, sweet with sugar, upon my tongue.

And then his lips met mine.

My chest swelled with my quick, jagged intake of greatly-needed oxygen as passionate warmth spread through my veins like fire. My arms tightened slowly around his neck, my fingers burying themselves into his tangled black hair, reveling in the feel of the many silken strands and pulling him even closer. In that moment, it was as if a truly delicious reality came screaming into perspective – no dream or illusion was _this good_. He tasted like the sweets he so often ate, creamy pies and fluffy cakes and decadent chocolates and flawless fruits. His mouth was positively _delectable_, something I knew I would always be hungry for. It seemed to satisfy me like no meal of food and drink ever could, a different kind of nourishment and sustenance – a satisfier for my very heart and soul. My metaphorical wounds healed. My cynicism and hesitation were seared out of existence. I felt truly and completely alive again, as if I'd been made whole once more.

He truly _was_ here – no figment of my imagination could do what he was doing to me now. My toes curled against the carpet, neither of us wearing shoes. His lips moved softly, sinuously against mine, savoring our contact with a sort of blissfully confident certainty, as if he too had had his doubts destroyed by our marvelous kiss. He managed to hold me even closer, our hearts beating together in a sort of uneven, ecstatic, adoring duet, separated merely by clothing, flesh, and bone. His soft white hands moved against my face, gently brushing my tears away with his fingertips, leaving thin trails of coolness across my cheeks. His touch seemed to spark my skin wherever he contacted it, sending lively pulses through my pores right to my chest, lifting my heart higher and higher into warmth and light and love. My knees felt weak, but still I pressed him back against the door. A quiet moan rose from his throat, the sound low and luscious as it caressed my ears and electrified my blood with the realization of how I certainly wasn't the only one enjoying this.

Finally, for need of oxygen and veracity, our lips separated, though his tongue sinuously and sneakily licked the rest of the chocolate frosting at the corner of my mouth away before he pulled slightly back, allowing me to attempt to regain my composure and rejoin the world of the sensible and coherent. _Dear God_... I leaned against him, requiring the support and enjoying the embrace as I continued to gasp quietly, my blood warmly surging in my tingling lips. His strong, wiry arms curled around me, his head resting atop mine as he chuckled quietly.

"Do you believe that I'm here _now_..?" he asked me, a smirk barely detectable in his tone, his voice still low and soft with a heated roughness to it.

"One-hundred percent," I replied with a smile of my own, my voice rather breathless and disorientated as well. He chuckled again at my use of percentages, a habit that mirrored his own investigative tactics, and he lightly kissed the top of my head, his fingers idly playing with my long brown hair. My heart sang in my chest. Wrapped in his arms, feeling his warmth, _tasting his lips_, I could deny it no longer – he was _really_ here with me. It was _really_ over. The case was _really_ solved – he would have never stopped unless the criminal had been brought to justice, that I was certain of – and Kira was _really_ captured. With that realization of the mass-murderer's defeat came the knowledge of my love's victory. He was undefeated, unbeaten, and unconquered. He was _still_ the greatest detective in the entire world... _L_.

Many faces and many names, but still the same.

And the case that had exclusively threatened his precious life was now ended. _It was over._ A small, ragged laugh slipped from my lips, a sense of fullness and safety and belonging enclosing me securely just as his wonderful arms were at that moment. It was very refreshing and restorative, flitting on the verge of ridiculous, but still, the longer he held me, the more I believed. The more his lips brushed against my hair, the more I was convinced that everything was okay. We embraced in silence for a brief instant, just basking in the glorious warmth of the moment. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest, listening to the soft pulse of his wonderful heart beat that still seemed to happily dance almost exactly in tune with my own. I closed my eyes, the sudden lack of my anxiety and worry and waiting leaving peaceful lethargy in its wake.

After a moment or two, however, my stomach chose that instant to growl quietly. It had been a few hours since I'd last eaten, and the meal of cake hadn't been utterly substantial, but still, I looked down at my abdomen with slight irritation. It irked me that basic human needs had selfishly decided to impose upon my reunion with L. However, my concerns weren't entirely disruptive, seeing as I soon learned that he was actually hungry himself. I felt and heard him lick his lips, my attentiveness immediately increasing.

"Though it pales in comparison to the lovely sweetness of your lips, that cake was quite appetizing.... I don't suppose any remains?" he asked me inquisitively, his lips traveling slightly lower to move with maddening softness against my forehead. A faint blush rose to my cheeks at his words as well as at his proximity, and I smiled at his question. I lacked the knowledge of how long it had been since he'd eaten since returning to me this night, making whether or not the intensity of the Kira case had prevented him from acquiring an adequate meal for any reasonable amount of time a mystery. But I knew from experience that his hungers for sweets were frequently reoccurring – and let's face it, there's always an appropriate time for cake.

"I'm afraid that particular cake has been consumed, but I saved a better one for your arrival," I murmured as I gazed up at him, my tone subtly excited with my anticipation of the sweet I had saved, reminding me of how wonderful it was that he actually had come back to me and that we could now partake in a deliciously-sugary morning snack. Something softened in his deep black eyes.

"You were that certain..." he said quietly, sounding slightly surprised that I had maintained such faith that he would return to me despite the inherent dangers of the Kira case, almost as if he'd doubted his return himself. Truth be told, I'd been quite unable to think of losing him – I'd more or less rejected every other option except for him making it safely back to me, thus making a magnificent, celebratory cake undoubtedly necessary. But then again, I suppose it _had_ been a matter of faith – it had to be to endure such adversity and create such unbelievable results. I smiled reassuringly at him, grateful that my faith had certainly not failed me, and he smiled so very warmly at me in response, the movement of his smooth, pale lips slow with his heart-warming amazement. His black eyes clearly depicted how much my devotion meant to him and how appreciative he was to be here now and have it paying off in the most wonderful way. He leaned closer to me, his long, spastic black bangs just barely brushing against my forehead as his fingertips trailed beneath my chin, tilting my face squarely up to his.

"Whatever the cake, sharing it with you will make it the very best," he murmured to me and only me, the feeling in his voice making my blood warm, his thumb brushing delicately just below my lower lip. My smile widened without any conscious direction from my blissfully-swirling brain, chills rippling behind my legs as my chest seemed to swell with warmth and pleasure at his utter acceptance of me.

"And besides," he added with an air of casualness, applying a stunning ability to alter the pacing and tone of his speech without any warning whatsoever as he took my hands lightly in his, "I've learned that our tastes in sweets is _quiet_ _similar_ in many areas, so I'm certain that if you believe this confectionary delight to be _superior_ to the one that I had the absolute _pleasure_ of tasting on your lips...then there's no doubt in my mind that it is." I blinked with slight surprise, another blush rising to my cheeks at the calm manner in which he addressed our kisses as he lead me with purpose into the kitchen and flicked one of the lights on. Standing in his usual slouch, he remained close beside me as I moved to the fridge and drew out his 'welcome home' cake with a dramatic flourish that would've been much more lively and impressive if I'd been a little more awake. But nonetheless, his black eyes widened as I set the sugary monstrosity upon the table for him to examine.

Though he could undoubtedly deduce that it was three layers high, seeing as he knew his way around delicious desserts, it still made me smile gleefully when I realized I knew things that he didn't concerning the cake, like how the layers were two thick slabs of moist, decadent, mouth-watering chocolate with a layer of cool vanilla ice-cream in between and that each level was separated by a rich coating of deep brown fudge. Though the inside was an almost-sinfully-delicious secret, I knew the outside was also impressive. The frosting was thick and white and creamy, like sweet clouds from heaven, lovingly enclosing the cake's interior like a soft, fluffy ivory blanket. It was topped off with chocolate and caramel drizzle and a dozen stout whipped cream turrets atop which full, round, ruby strawberries were placed, rearing directly upward and glimmering like jewels in the light from the bulbs overhead. L and I stared in silence for a moment, a mutual appreciation for fantastic desserts between us. The sight and smell of them was admittedly quite enjoyable, but the taste was by far the best. As my mouth filled with saliva, I drew two forks from the drawer beneath the table, holding them up to him.

His black eyes drew slowly away from the cake, settling with delightful wonder upon me and the utensil I was offering him, the method to devour the sugary sensation that resided before us. He reached out with one long white hand, his pale thumb and forefinger closing delicately upon one of the forks and drawing it directly up out of my grasp. Now, both of us armed and dangerous and hungry, we pulled up chairs and dug in. He crouched, his knees pulled up to his chest, somehow balancing upon his bare feet atop his seat, carefully bringing a loaded forkful up to his mouth and engulfing the entire thing in one bite. As he made a low sound of appreciation deep in his throat, his fork almost immediately returning for another taste, I had my first, sitting with my legs contracted in a position similar to his as I closed my lips around a large mound of cake. The sugar seemed to give me a slow, sensual kiss at the back of my throat, the taste swarming throughout my mouth, washing sweetly against my teeth and caressing my tongue. I couldn't help but moan with delight as well, swallowing with relish and coming back for more. We didn't even speak for a period of time akin to seven bites.

"Were your earlier deductions correct concerning this cake's superiority to the other?" I asked with an amused smile, my voice quite distorted by the amount of cake that currently inhabited my mouth as I sensed that I already knew the answer. He met my gaze and smiled himself, his black eyes glimmering.

"One-hundred percent," he murmured, his own voice difficult to understand with his mouth's current fullness of cake. I laughed quietly, digging my fork back into the ridiculously tasty mound of chocolate and vanilla and strawberry before us. L swallowed audibly, taking a brief moment to lick a smear of creamy white frosting from his pale lips. My blood warmed slightly as I watched him, vividly remembering how it had felt to have his lips moving against mine... It was amazing. I felt so whole, so complete, and so peaceful. I was sitting at my kitchen table at 6:30 am eating cake with the man I loved, who had just gotten back alive and triumphant from a life-threatening investigation. Life was good. No, life was _wonderful_. I smiled around another forkful of cake, my mood positively elated. Licking my fork clean, I needed a bit of a softly-sour tang to counteract all of the sweetness in my mouth. I reached for a strawberry, plucking the bright red fruit from its proud location atop a fluffy mound of whipped cream and carrying it to my lips. I licked the cool, textured surface of the fruit, swallowing the light coating of cream that my tongue had easily removed and then taking a bite out of the berry itself.

"Mmm..." I murmured, the sweet, juicy taste filling my mouth after the moist, subtle, satisfying crunch, less than an apple but more than a banana, positively wonderful... As I moved to pop the rest of the fruit into my mouth, the sense that I was being intensely watched made a warm blush color my cheeks. I moved my eyes to L, my heart rate quickening when I noticed how he was looking at me with such focused eyes, their black depths swirling with a hunger that had nothing to do with the cake resting untouched upon his fork. Our chairs were mere inches apart, my shoulder almost touching his. Without looking at it, he speared the cake with his fork, leaving his bite untaken, his eyes never leaving mine. He then used the hand he'd just freed to brace himself against the table and lean toward me, keeping his balance and giving me very little time to prepare before his lips met mine once again. My eyes widened for a moment or two before they rolled back slightly and slipped closed. The strawberry slipped from my fingers and thumped softly upon the table, almost completely outside of my realm of perception as he commanded the attention of each of my senses.

His long black hair brushed against my forehead. The sound of his soft, swift breathing mingled with mine, a song without lyrics for both of us to dance to. I sank into the feel of his skin, warm and smooth and sweet, moving melodically and marvelously against my own, the taste of the cake swirling within our mouths. My blood began to race through my veins, heating my lips and further coloring my cheeks. My hands tightened against my knees until my left hand broke away and repositioned the grip of my fingers to the collar of his soft white shirt, pulling him even more securely to me. My heart pounded with fervent pleasure in my chest, my toes curling once more against the edge of my chair. Unexpectedly, his passion suddenly increased, and he nimbly traced the shape of my lips with his tongue, making my entire body shiver almost violently. I whimpered softly and pulled away for need of oxygen, my sense of self-control about as trustworthy as Kira... I swallowed roughly, a breathless smile adorning my face. L remained close to me, but graciously allowed me to catch my breath, his own rate of breathing noticeably uneven as well. His black hair had fallen slightly, hiding his eyes from my view, though a smile of silent pleasure curled his full, pale lips as well. He slowly settled back into his usual crouched position, peering at me with fond affection through his tousled hair. I'd almost stilled my racing heart, though my lips still tingled with heated feeling and awareness. I licked them and then met his gaze with an undeniably joyous smile, beginning to release the collar of his shirt but quickly ceasing when he closed his hand around mine, keeping it in place.

"Please forgive my amorous fervor...but I simply could not resist..." His tone was quiet and fairly collected once more, the pale fingers of his free hand closing delicately around the bitten strawberry I'd dropped earlier and holding it out to me with a playful smile. Giggling, I accepted it, drawing him closer with the hand that still clutched the front of his shirt.

"I assure you, I don't object in the slightest. I've been without you for far longer than I ever care to again, and you being here now is an undoubtedly fantastic experience... I find every aspect of your presence, whether it be physical or emotional, quite delicious," I responded smoothly, popping the strawberry into my mouth as soon as I'd finished and smiling around the succulent fruit. I felt a mad surge of glee when I noticed his large black eyes widen, surprising him quite a feat in and of itself. L then chuckled at my choice of words, his adorable smile widening even further in response. I couldn't refrain from laughing a little at myself, at the words that had slipped from my mouth, at the emotions I'd so enthusiastically admitted to. True, it wasn't as if they were a secret, or that I wanted to keep any aspect of how I felt from him, but still, there was a subtle, simple sort of hesitation with so boldly spilling my heart's contents before him. But then... in a way... what I had just done, vocalized, _proclaimed_... It felt good. Liberating.

His dark eyes gleamed, looking at me unblinkingly from behind the ragged obscuring curtain of his black hair.

"_Amazing_..." he murmured, his tone soft and yet serious, a truly deep mental process currently commencing as so many often did in the vastly intelligent realms of his mind. "...I often ponder for hours upon the topics of _why _and _how _you care so very much for me... and though I sometimes struggle to summon _satisfactory _answers to such vexations, I find that I cannot help but be so unrealistically euphoric _that you do _and so unbelievably grateful for what you've so _freely _and so _graciously _given me... When I face so many less-than-ideal situations and mind-whirling puzzles and nerve-testing cases where it may seem _so very difficult_ for justice to prevail – and no passed cases have challenged me like the Kira case has – _you_... You remind me, of all there is that is still worth standing up and fighting for, and _I cannot thank you enough for that_..." As his voice, not altering its pace or octave much during his impossibly wonderful words, faded from a low murmur into a whispering silence, I could only stare at him. My heart seemed to absorb every syllable that had left his lips, taking each of them tenderly into its chambers and filling up with them until its rims had welled over with gratitude and devotion and affection, spilling a warm, whimsical feeling all over my insides, soaking me through with its ridiculously peaceful and satisfying senses of belonging and acceptance and most of all – _love_.

I could hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes.

Spending so much time with him and partaking in his occupation, I'd learned quite a lot about the signs and signals of love that humans tended to reveal or expose, whether they wanted to or not. I'd listened and watched often during many interrogations and learned just what to look for to deduce an accurate motive for murder or theft or anything at all that we humans do. And now, all of my experience made it clear to me that, with no dark and desperate motive..._he loved me_. All of my deductive abilities told me it was true, and I didn't need the precise and intuitive and professionally-detached mind of a first-rate detective to tell me that I _certainly_ loved him in return. It was a truly wonderful experience, discovering such a thing with an intelligent mind. When I'd spent so long believing that such belonging and acceptance and devotion and affection and adoration had at most a twenty-three percent chance of being mine, I couldn't deny that it felt positively spectacular to be proven so very wrong in this one instance. I'd never been happier to have been inaccurate concerning my capabilities in securing for myself a truly loving relationship...

I felt my eyes moisten with awed, euphoric tears, though they did not spill over. Searching for the words to further convey to him how I felt and all that I wished to tell him but finding none, I investigated a way to communicate the more complicated thoughts and feelings that were swirling warmly within the overflowing chambers of my heart. When one subtly but certainly came to me, I enthusiastically embraced it, leaning slowly toward him until I felt his lips against mine. This kiss was slower, simpler than the ones before it, much more certain of the wonderful reality I had opened my eyes to only moments before. It searched for no evidence of truth, having found it already. It was not disbelieving or doubting or desperate. Into it, I poured all of the wonderful words I wished to say but couldn't quite pull the sentences together, all of the elated emotions that seemed to go beyond even my educated grasp of words, all of the sights and sounds and senses of the moment – of all of the moments I'd had the pleasure of spending with him – everything...

I poured all of the warm love that was now soaking me through to my core into my lips that were now pressed against his, hoping all that I wished to tell him was accurately conveyed by such a lovely union. I trailed my hand down the side of his face, brushing my thumb softly along the dark shadow dwelling constantly just beneath his eye, the feel of his smooth, pale skin against mine still a remarkable marvel to experience after so long without it. I felt his fingertips brush deftly across my cheek before they carefully braided themselves into my long hair, holding my face close to his. His lips moved against mine in silent, savoring, heart-felt reply – and I knew my message had been received. Our hearts were both overflowing, pouring all of their contents out and letting them splash spectacularly into our souls. When our lips finally separated, we sighed quietly as one. His forehead pressed against mine, his hair trailing softly against my skin, our noses brushing.

"I love you," I managed to murmur almost inaudibly into the warmly heated air between us, pressing my lips softly against his yet again for just a moment as my heart began to race in my weightless chest at our proximity.

"I love you, as well" he said in soft, whispering reply, his lips returning my delicate kiss.

We smiled, effectively making human words inferior to expressing our mutual happiness at the moment. Our breathing was rather uneven and weak, my skin warm all over with the swift travels of my blood in vessels underneath it. As the air of deeply-rooted, mutual adoration steadily seeped into the back of my mind until it happily permeated each of my thoughts and allowed for a general lightening of the surrounding atmosphere, I wondered rather playfully if the temperature of his skin had risen as well. As my smile slowly widened, I leaned forward and down, tilting my head and softly pressing my lips to his throat. His skin was warm and smooth, his lively pulse able to be felt just beneath its surface in response to my savoring contact. I heard him sigh, the sound low and deep and pleasant. He murmured one word in a husky whisper into the top of my hair:

"_Delicious_..."

My scalp prickled with feeling in response, my own heart rate increasing because of his warm, wonderful voice washing slowly and sensationally over me. I scooted my chair closer to his and settled my head against his shoulder, pausing for just a moment as I collected myself and smiled with my awareness of all of the wonders around me. He curled one of his long arms lithely around my shoulders, holding me close as I traced the shape of his collar bones with my fingertip in a state of bliss.

"...Like Kira's head on a platter?" I asked curiously, remembering the reason for the possibility of me no longer having the man I loved. There was no bitterness in my tone, though part of me noticed that and thought of it as strange. It was like I was too warm and comfortable and full of sugar and surrounded by love to be angry or hateful toward the mass-murderer for all that he had or had almost done. I couldn't help but think of it as rather nice – liberating, to not feel the cold, crushing weight of such negative emotions. L so easily chased them all away.

"Hmmm...An interestingly comparative question..." I heard him murmur softly, his tone noticeably thoughtful. That piqued my interest, having sparked such an obviously deep thought process with my rather simple-minded question.

"What happened, L?" I asked inquisitively from where I was nestled against his neck, though I soon found that I wanted too badly to gauge his facial expressions during his explanation and repositioned myself close beside him, sitting up and staring intently as he began.

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Well, let me know what you thought! Read and review, puh-lease! :)

A couple thousand more words to go - supporting my theory that it was too long for a one-shot.

I think it's easier to read this way, but if I'm wrong, let me know and I'll change it.

Thanks again for reading!

And it isn't over just yet. :)

~SD


	2. Chapter 2

**This is where things got a little harder to complete.**

**Technicalities started getting in the way, school started slowing me down, and my mind just started to have trouble with thinking about exactly what I wanted to happen and what would happen.**

**I was attempting to stay into character to the best that I could while putting L in a romantic situation, seeing as there's nothing like it in the series. So...I tried. :)**

**And I apologize for the few details concerning the resolution of the Kira case.**

**As much as it saddened and irritated me, a lot of how it progressed made a lot of sense, so it was a bit of a challenge to make it go the way I wanted it to. That's why some of the details are vague. I hope it's all still sensible enough to be enjoyable and doesn't take away from the core of this story that branched out and grew way more than I thought it would at the start. Use your imaginations, I guess. *grins***

**So that basically conveys my likes and dislikes of this piece.**

**I hope you all enjoy it – and I'd love to hear what you think. I'm looking to improve my writing as well as to get some encouragement to keep doing what I love, so all comments are appreciated! :3**

**Thanks again!**

**Disclaimer: Death Note and L belong to Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba.**

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Safe and Warm

Chapter 2

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"...It was certainly a case that I'll never forget... You recall the basics and details we'd gathered up until a month ago, correct?" he asked, peering at me through the shadowing fringe of his black hair, his tone taking on a usual, rather-monotonous, business-like quality that I recognized well from when we would discuss cases for hours in the past.

"Kira was able to cause deaths by heart attack without being present at the murder scenes unless he so chose. He could control a victim's time of death as well as their actions leading up to it. The death of twelve FBI agents pointed to the suspects they were investigating, and eventually Raye Penber's suspects became the most likely after his death and his fiancé's disappearance. That made the Deputy Director and the Superintendent and their families the most likely suspects, seeing as Kira had to have access to classified information. If I'm remembering correctly, Light Yagami was the main suspect that you were investigating, he and a young pop idol named Misa Amane. Misa had been connected with the Kira videotapes sent to Sakura TV, revealing her possible connection to the Second Kira, and the evidence just kept stacking up against Light as the First... You figured out that the two Kiras had met, had brought in Light and Misa for questioning, and then they had drastic alterations in their behavior during their confinement. Light's father Soichiro acted in a situation that should have revealed if the two were the First and Second Kira, though they failed to reveal anything concrete for conviction. It seemed incredibly obvious that Light was Kira, though he denied all accusations, as did miss Amane, and then our communications became less frequent after the possibility of the Yotsuba Group being involved as the next Kira arose..." I recapped quickly with the details I remembered, eager to learn what had become of it all. L shifted slightly, pulling his knees more securely against his chest and modifying any disturbances in his balance. He pressed his thumb to his bottom lip before continuing.

"...Light and I worked with the rest of the Investigation Team, some of which had been forced to lose their respected titles of employment to continue to pursue Kira when the NPA had announced its repeal from the investigation, and pursued our lead in Yotsuba. Wedy and Aiber assisted us accordingly and effectively applied my title as Eraldo Coil to help divert Yotsuba's focus away from killing the heads of competing companies as well as to infiltrate the secure interior of the head building itself as well as some of the CEO's homes. With Misa's unexpected and daring assistance, we obtained definitive reason to suspect Higuchi. We then positioned Wedy's attention to properly placing spy cameras and wire taps in each of his vehicles and used Matsuda and Sakura TV to deceive Higuchi into thinking we knew that he was Kira and were planning on announcing it at the end of a false televised program. We were able to predict his movements and head him off when he attempted to kill Matsuda." I recalled the TV broadcast, remembering how it had ended without revealing who Kira really was despite all of the build up and reassurance. It made sense now, that Sakura TV would be believed to stoop that low and that L would have found a way to use it to his advantage. I pulled the cake closer and engulfed a large piece, watching him and listening closely as he continued. His tone of voice had changed slightly, become more wondering and incredulous.

"...When we apprehended Higuchi, he finally revealed Kira's killing method to us..." There was a short pause in which I noticed his black eyes swirl with thoughts.

"...A notebook. A collection of simple lined pages bound in black leather with the word _Death Note_ scrawled across the cover... Upon touching the notebook, we were able to see a strange white creature, the God of death that Kira had taunted me with at the start of the case... _A shinigami_..." I found my cake slightly difficult to swallow, almost choking on it when he whispered the word.

"_What_? They exist?" I asked in disbelief, my brow furrowing in confusion. _Surely not..._ But he met my gaze, his eyes seeming to be blacker, as if he too could hardly believe what he had seen himself, as if it was often a torment for his rational and logical mind to attempt to believe something so super-naturally spectacular.

I believed him. With that simple, haunting look, I believed him.

After the arrival of the shinigami to this tale of wild life and violent death, it became increasingly difficult to comprehend. I had to keep eating the cake to keep the weight of sleep away and keep the awareness contained within my brain to keep up with his explanations. The Death Note was the murder weapon of hundreds upon hundreds of people, not all of which were criminals. The First and Second Kira had neared their victory – Higuchi had been killed at the scene and the rules to the notebook had been found written upon its first few pages, as well as two very decisive ones upon the back, one that prevented the notebook from being destroyed and another that cleared them of all charges...if it was true. But who would defy the alleged "god of a new world without criminals" when the boundaries beyond what was known and accepted as reality were so clearly surpassed? Who could stand up against two gods of death and the murderous work they were observing by the hands – the pens – of two humans who had been given the terrible, cursing power to kill with such dreadful ease?

No one else but L.

He never backed down. He never gave up. And in the end, as sure as he was sitting before me now, he was victorious. The death gods' loyalties had been fickle and rather indifferent. The Second Kira had been pliable and predictable. And Kira's arrogance and greed had taken wing to transform him into a blood-red creature that no longer wanted the betterment of the world as he knew it, but instead wanted all of his obstacles removed, wanted his way to be the only way, wanted power and influence and wealth – wanted to be a god.

And in the end, that was his downfall.

He lost sight of his true goal and made a mistake – a mistake that L was right there to catch.

With an altering of pages of the Death Note, a well-executed performance to initiate a certain response, and the dedication of all who opposed Kira and his will of terrorism, he was defeated, he and his pawns and his notebook of death. Misa Amane was the Second Kira...and Light Yagami was Kira. I hadn't been expecting any sort of personal opinion from L concerning the young man who had struck fear into the hearts of the entire population and effectively stopped those that he saw fit from beating, but he surprised me, pausing in his description of the bitter end to tell me of how he personally felt about what had happened.

"In the end, I had never been wrong in suspecting Light Yagami... but still, he had shown such promise when we'd been investigating Yotsuba together. Of course, I know now that it was simply another of Kira's intricate schemes to achieve his childishly-minded goals, but the fact still remains that he would have made an excellent detective. His deductive skills were remarkable and I'd always thought so. It's rather sorrowful and disappointing that he'd succumbed to the temptation of the _Death Note_ and had taken such a ruinous road in life... I wish him as well as justice can allow for him for the remainder of his life, however long or short it may be..." His voice was soft and slow, his tone so deep in thought that it seemed unable to tangibly express any one emotion at the moment, but I heard the truth in his voice, and I felt sorry for Light Yagami too.

He was apprehended by the Japanese police force on this day, just three hours ago, and was severely-contained in a high-security facility that few other than L and Watari knew the location of. His sentence was currently a lifetime in prison – for the moment. To be safe, the courts and organizations of peace and law and order and justice all around the world had accepted a temporary verdict to keep him contained while they carefully and precisely debated about what to do with this mass murderer known as Kira. His fate was not yet decided, but all I could currently and truly care about was L.

I'd never been so relieved to be sitting beside him, staring at his pensive face as he too reflected on the events that had come so very close to taking his life. My tears had even begun to fall again as I reached out and threw my arms around him, hugging him close and making him grunt softly in surprise at my suddenly-fervent desire to be even closer to him and the rather unexpected strength in my arms. Our chairs almost toppled over together. He managed to maintain his balance and was quick to return my embrace, silently sharing a moment of utter, heart-wrenching gratitude and relief with me at how fortunate we were to still have each other. I shuddered against his shoulder, enclosed safely and warmly and tightly within his arms, his head resting atop mine, his fingers moving soothingly against my back. We didn't speak immediately, simply held each other for a period of time that grew more and more peaceful as it carried on. The solid assurance of being together now embraced us, overshadowing the previous fear and danger of the Kira case that had almost torn us apart.

And that was enough for me.

The moment I had thought should have been pleasant but wasn't without him hours earlier, when I was lying warm and full of sugary sweets upon the couch, was now utterly and completely fulfilled. I needed no blanket, for I had him, his arms wrapped around me and enclosing me in the heart-warming feel of a truly loving embrace, my stomach filled with the greatest cake I'd ever had the absolute pleasure of devouring with the man I loved, his firm but comfortable shoulder supporting my head better than any pillow ever could. His soft, rhythmic breathing became a sort of lullaby, my eyelids beginning to grow heavier as the night continued to become the morning. This was how it should be. This was my sanctuary, my cloud nine, my happy place...my L.

I smiled as sleep continued to try to claim me its softly-sighing and oh-so-willing prisoner. I didn't want to miss a moment of my time with L, knowing that there really was no guarantee that it would be continuously permanent, but my body wouldn't be denied the necessity of rest any longer. I began to doze off in his arms, my eyes closing and shrouding my world in blackness temporarily before I would realize that I'd fallen asleep and would immediately try to awaken once again, my eyelids fluttering weakly as I tried my hardest to keep them open. The large plate that our delightfully delicious cake had proudly resided less than an hour before was now bare except for a few rich, fudgy smears and a speckling of mahogany crumbs. I could find no sort of sugary awakening from the remnants of our celebratory treat – and I continued to sink into slumber, being too tired to attempt to hunt down yet another of the many sweets located in various places throughout our home.

I began to lose track of when I was awake and when I was asleep, but I became aware of the surface I was reclining against moving after a moment, a hushed moan of protest rising from my throat, my response slow with my lethargy. Though my eyes were closed, I was able to make an accurate estimation of what was happening around me. L held me close and supported my head as he shifted smoothly in his seat, sitting back in his chair and uncurling his legs, lowering his feet to the floor.

"Come this way," I heard him whisper softly in my ear, his voice seeming to waft melodiously throughout the heavy, dreamlike fog within my mind, washing softly across my senses like a sluggish dousing of clear, sparkling, sun-heated water. It slipped sinuously between the realms of my reality and my dreams, making it even more wondrous than usual, seeing as it wrapped around me like a warm blanket, caressing every inch of my flesh, exciting shivering heats and trembling chills all throughout my body. I could almost taste it on my tongue as if it were a decadent drizzle of melting chocolate.

"_Mmm_..." I murmured in deep, dreamy pleasure, leaning against him for support as my brain's transmissions to the many motion-responsible nerve endings in my partially-unresponsive body were further slowed with my lack of sleep. I thought I heard him chuckle quietly, though I wasn't in any way certain. All I knew was that, whether he had just made the sound or not, I'd heard it before and I'd hear it again, and it was positively beautiful. A blissful, sleepy smile curled my lips, my head lolling weakly and willingly against his hunched shoulder, nestled partially within the crook of his neck, his bare skin warm and welcome against mine. His arm curled around my back, his long, pale fingers closing softly around my left shoulder as he carefully led me through the dimly-lit room. The television was still flickering, and I registered the variations in the light against my closed eyelids to a certain degree to realize that L was heading toward the couch that I had almost fallen asleep on a few hours earlier.

My footsteps were rather stumbling, but I remained upright as we continued toward our destination, his movements emitting no senses of urgency or desperation – he was calm and collected like always. He didn't force me along despite my slow pace, seemed simply as content to be beside me as I was to be beside him. I was not too tired to get a lovely wave of delight through my mind and body at that thought. Eventually, I felt him stop walking, knowing that we had reached the couch and that I had only to figure out where it was in relation to my current position and then however short of an amount of decent sleep could be mine. True, there was a bed in the other room, but that simply seemed to be too far away for me in my currently-sleepy state. I slumped slightly where I was standing, searching blindly and lazily around me until I felt the cool edge of the couch against my fingertips, just behind me. Sighing with relief at my discovery, I slowly lowered myself until I felt the comfortable cushions rise up to meet me, easily supporting me as I settled rather heavily and thoughtlessly upon them.

Though I sat still for a moment, I felt L's grip on my shoulders shift as he got onto the couch slightly behind me, off to my left, his bare feet making soft sliding noises upon the cool black leather. I felt his knee trail against my back as he settled into his usual and remarkably-balanced crouch, his baggy jeans rubbing quietly against the fabric of my shirt, ruffling it ever so slightly and unconsciously causing a small portion of my side to become exposed, the cool air resulting from his movements making goosebumps appear on my skin. Though sleep was tightening its grip upon me with every passing moment, I was not unaware of how his touch made me shiver.

My lips curled into a smile as I slowly opened my eyes and looked first at the hand that still resided warmly upon my shoulder and then back at him. The flickering light of the television was really the only source of pale illumination in the room, as it was only a few hours ago, and it cast his face in inconsistent, fickle shadows. It trailed across his cheek bones, deepened the smooth blackness beneath his dark, devoted eyes and accentuated the gently curving shape of his appealing lips, which were currently curled into a small, savoring smile. It poured through his spastic hair, from the silken, glistening outward strands to the soft, raven-colored ones beneath, and settled sleepily into the wrinkled folds of his clothing – as I admittedly wished to do. It was a truly lovely sight, as if he were a subtle yet stunning black and white painting, so still and silent and yet so powerful.

Our gazes stayed linked for a moment, neither of us finding the will or the reason to look away.

His eyes stared deeply into mine, pouring a delicious and fluttering warmth into me like they so often did before, causing my heartbeat to quicken and my body temperature to rise ever so slightly. My intelligent mind whirred to try to identify all of my feelings and emotions and vivid responses. It was not an anxious or a frantic search, simply pleasantly curious... I was so _full_ at that moment, as I had been upon his glorious return to me and up until this point, and would be what felt like an eternity after. With him I felt safe and warm and wanted, and I wished to always feel that way. I wished to always be with him.

Against the threatening, hostile odds of the Kira case, he had returned to me.

Our bond hadn't been broken.

Our love had prevailed, as justice had, no matter what.

And with that realization that we were both undeniably aware of, I felt like I was one step closer to always having him as my own and always being his in return. My heart seemed to swell even more, the torrent of flowing happiness and love within me washing even faster into joyous rapids that swept me up and carried me away. Staring into the swirling, glimmering, endless depths of his warm black eyes and reveling in the sight of his charming smile, I saw his own delight and pleasure and knew he felt the same. My bottom lip trembled as the barest beginnings of joyous tears once again began to rise into quiet existence. He used the hand that was delicately resting atop my shoulder to softly but surely pull me backwards toward him until I contacted his folded knees, more-than-willingly leaning against him after he'd disturbed my already-sleep-reduced balance, my heartbeat quickening suddenly as a result of our unexpectedly-close proximity. His other arm curled sinuously around the front of my shoulders and across my collar, holding me close to him. The embrace was warm and wonderful, making me turn more comfortably into his legs and settle more deeply into the safe enclosure of his arms. He lowered his head to mine, his ragged black hair brushing softly across my skin, his closeness allowing me to feel his breath as it softly caressed my face, smelling of sweets that made me smile. The warmth of our bodies danced slowly between us as our skin and clothing continued to be in contact with each other's. The silence closed in around us, the television flickering aimlessly, a bubble of bliss and euphoria settling around the two of us, enclosing us in our own little world where no evils and no Kiras could touch us...

Unexpectedly, his arms tightened around me and his fingertips, with gentleness and yet purposeful determination, lifted my face to his. I opened my eyes, having closed them in the state of sleepy bliss I'd been in a moment or so ago, and I met his gaze, his black eyes almost surprisingly expressive, burning into mine through the obscuring, shadowed fringe of his dark hair that hung around and in front of his face. My heart stuttered at his intensity, my breath hitching ever so slightly in my throat.

"..._Here_ and _now_, I promise you..._no_ _matter what_ opposition any case may pose in the future, I will try my _absolute_ _hardest_ to return to you...I will do _all in my power_ as a human being and as _L_..._no matter what_..." he murmured to me in a slow, roiling storm of passionate intensity that succeeded in taking my breath away completely. Wide-eyed, I stared at him, a small part of me rather incomprehensible to his suddenly-smoldering words, such devotion and promise etched hotly into every syllable. He _meant_ it – I had never believed him more than I did at that moment.

"...I am undeniably aware of the likelihood that I _will_ die because of some aspect of my occupation, but you've made remaining alive a more promising, meaningful, and amazing prospect than I could have ever imagined before encountering you... I promise I won't let that slip away, with all that I have within me..._I promise_..." His voice faded into a whisper that I thought would haunt my dreams. My heart pounded in my throat, denying me the ability to respond to him quickly, to pour out my heart in my own promises of devotion and dedication and determination as he so gloriously had. I searched my brain for phrases, words, letters, _anything_ to say to him at the moment. He'd caught me so off guard, the only response I was able to conjure felt much-less meaningful than his earlier words, but still, it was something, and I meant it with everything I was and everything I had.

"I love you, L...and I promise to _always_ be here when you return..." I said softly, staring imploringly at him and hoping that my words meant as much to him as his had meant to me... I felt rather verbally-inferior, but his response assured me that that was not so. I saw a change overcome his previously-unshakable countenance, a sort of awed surprise and wonder like what I felt had been upon my face earlier. It warmed my heart that words I'd spoken could lead to such a beautiful expression. It was wonderful that I was capable of telling him just how much I loved him and how very much he meant to me, even if I felt that my grasp of words at the time hadn't been the best.

Even so, he didn't seem to mind.

His long, wiry arms curled tighter around me, drawing me closer into an embrace that allowed a mutual understanding to pass between us that no more words were needed. I wrapped my arms around him, returning his affectionate contact and allowing my admittedly-tired eyes to close as I settled comfortably against him, willingly sinking into his warmth and softness and strength with pure delight. With all that needed to be said now conveyed, my body refused to accept any more reasons to stay completely awake. The darkness flickered in and out of being in my mind. One minute, I was listening to the sound of his rhythmic, melodious breathing and the next I was finding myself suddenly hearing it again as I'd woken up, unaware that I'd ever stopped listening or being totally aware of him as he hadn't ceased to breathe. I began to dose off again repeatedly, shifting occasionally in L's arms with my struggles to remain conscious, but he soon realized that I should not have been fighting my sleep-deprived body's pitiful wails for slumber.

He held me closer, making my heartbeat quicken as he wrapped an arm around my back and curved the other around my legs. My skin prickled rather lazily with feeling as he shifted me gently, his legs moving beneath me as he uncurled them and carried my drowsy form until he was able to place me in a properly-reclined position upon the smooth leather of the couch. Lying upon my back, I was able to gaze up at him and see him staring adoringly down at me, my heart fluttering gleefully in response. I was cold when I wasn't close beside him and would've protested vehemently to him changing my location if he hadn't moved to join me in lying down. He reclined beside me, rolling onto his side with a uniquely odd grace that seemed to be exclusive to his ability to move and wrapping his arms around me once more, his leg smoothly maneuvering its way between mine.

As my heartbeat quickened in response to our close proximity, my body was effectively warmer than I'd been before. His observant black eyes noticed the slight blush that colored my cheeks, and he gently trailed a finger down the side of my face in response, feeling the warmth he evoked in me with a blissful and beautiful expression. I couldn't help but smile at him. He smiled at me in return, chuckling softly into the glimmering dark. The sound settled around me like a warm, fluffy blanket. The elements of the evening were really stacking against me staying awake, but I was becoming so comfortable that my resistance to sleep was slowly ebbing away.

I snuggled closer to L and his arms tightened around me in response, his face nestled gently in the crook of my neck, his pale hand softly enclosing mine. His breath brushed quietly across the left side of my jaw, like a loving angel's heavenly caress. Fringes of dreams started to form at the edge of my mind, filled with whispered words and plump strawberries and luscious lips and sparkling grains of sugar. _Delicious_. The word made me smile. My heavy eyelids began to close, gaining twenty pounds every time I attempted to force them open again. My consciousness temporarily returned when I felt L shift behind me, releasing my hand for a moment and leaning for something behind my head. I glanced back at him as he settled closely against me once again, whatever he was reaching for obviously retrieved. I realized what it was when he extended his arm over my shoulder toward the television in front of us, holding the remote delicately between his thumb and forefinger and pressing the off button. The room became completely dark in an instant. I heard him drop the remote somewhere, maybe on the floor, and then his arm wrapped around me again.

The feel of him changed when I had less of a visual ability to see him, the touches taking on a different warmth in my awareness as I was deprived of other means of receiving them with my sense of sight. I registered the feel of the fabrics of our clothing pressed against each other, drank in the feel of his warmth and the softness of his skin in a wonderfully more-tangible way. Tiny, minute electrical pulses sparked in each of my pores at our proximity in the blackness. The absence of the television brought on a whole different perspective in the room. The first hints of daylight were just beginning to brighten the world outside, the world that was waking up and continuing on no matter what. The curtains made it so it wasn't problematic as I continued to fall asleep – although I felt I was tired enough that I could've fallen asleep with a floodlight blaring in my face... My hand was warm within his, his arms enclosing me in a sense of wonderful belonging that only he could bestow upon me. I felt him shift after a moment and press a soft kiss into my throat, making a smile of dreamy pleasure curl my lips as I sighed deeply in response. His voice spoke to me from darkness, both inside and outside of my mind.

"Good morning, my love," he murmured in a whisper.

"Mmhmm..." was all I managed to reply with aloud, though I was sure he knew that I'd meant something along the lines of _It is certainly a good morning now that I'm with you._ And that was certainly the truth. It was more than a good morning with him – it was wonderful. I hoped beyond hope that it was one more morning after a series of lovely beginnings of days passed and only one of many of those still to come with him.

I was safe, warm, and loved.

My L was safe and warm and loved with me.

And that was all I could ask for as I blissfully sank with him into the dark.

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Well, that pretty much concludes this random bout of fan-girly fluffiness that was an absolute joy to write.

A round of applause for my _delicious_ little L. :3

It was a little difficult to get it to end in a way that I liked after it started to grow and include many more details than I'd ever expected it to when I began, but I think, all things considered, this not-so-little story turned out satisfactory after all.

Though I can't deny I'm glad to be done with it. :)

I have one more surprise for you all, which I'll get posted as soon as I can.

I also have another story set in the Death-Note universe that I should be able to complete soon as well.

(Though, with how huge this one got, I'm not sure how much my speedy-update word counts for anymore.)

Then Tropical Torment shall return.

Thank you all, so very much, yet again!

You readers and writers and reviewers all help to make posting these things so very worth it!

Reviews are my fuel, so please let me know what you think, be it praise or criticism.

Again, many thanks and lots of love! – and a whipped-cream-y strawberry if you're interested. ;)

~SD


	3. Chapter 3 Alternate Ending Part 1

**Hey everyone! Hope you've been enjoying the story so far!**

**This is the last installment of it, I'm fairly certain. I want to get on with other projects.**

**It occurred within the second chapter, somewhere after I – I mean, the female main character *grins* hugs L and then the story ends with them falling asleep. This is a different take on the hug and the ending, and I'm not sure what to do with it now, seeing as it didn't quite fit with the mood I'd been aiming to create with the first two chapters.**

**I'm still posting it just to see what you all think.**

**Feedback and comments are certainly appreciated – this is just a bit of fun before I move on. :3**

**I hope it does nothing to...I dunno, **_**ruin**_** what I created in the first two chapters. I don't think it will, but I'm not totally sure. I'm posting it as an Alternate Ending for a reason – it's pretty different than what I had before... Well, I'll let you read and think for yourselves. :)**

****** And it's more of an adult situation, just a head's up.**

**So thank you, and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own L or any other aspects of Death Note. It all belongs to Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba.**

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Safe and Warm

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Alternate Ending – Chapter 3 Part 1

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Unable to help myself, I wrapped my arms around L and drew him close, my cheek brushing across the cool, pale expanse of his in the process. I heard an almost-silent gasp slip from his mouth, and I shivered against him. I closed my eyes and simply embraced him for all he was and all he ever would be, with or without me, attempting to hold him for a forever's worth in that short moment. His hair trailed softly against the skin of my face, but it certainly did nothing to disturb me. My heart-rate increased slowly, steadily, as I comprehended more and more the warmer my skin became just how close I was to him.

I felt his hand gently trail up my back, his fingertips seeming to delve tenderly into the small ridges of my spine, making me tremble as he ruffled the fabric of my shirt, making it move sensually against my prickling skin as it continued to heat at his touch. His pale fingers then buried themselves in my hair, weaving carefully through the many long, brown strands until I could feel his present-but-unproblematic grip. He pulled back the slightest amount, wordlessly imploring me to look him in the eye. I moved willingly with his hand, chills rippling within my legs all the while as I pulled back just enough to gaze into his face, his hand ceasing to move me after I'd reached that point and had been positioned right where he wished me to be.

The atmosphere of the room had changed once again, still loving and devoted, and yet more so than before – the air now seemed to become heated and thicker, a series of passionate flames sparking into glowing being within my veins. I saw an intensifying in his expression that I had no doubt was similarly visible in my own. His black eyes had somehow managed to darken even further and smolder even hotter, their endless depths seeming to swallow the flickering light from the television into a hungry oblivion like they were currently devouring me. Flaming ice slipped through my veins. I could smell his breath once more – taste it upon the back of my tongue behind my slightly parted lips. His mouth was _so close_... I was unconsciously drawn to it, and now it was _my_ turn to be unable to resist.

As I tilted my head up to his and pulled him closer using the warm, white fabric of his shirt as a handle, he responded faster than I'd expected and lifted my mouth to his in one swift movement, his fingers obviously tightening in my hair and guiding me into the amorous pleasure I so deeply craved with a searing desire that mirrored my own. Our lips met with a gleaming spark that immediately set us both on fire. His _feel_, his _smell_, his _taste_ all tore delightfully and deliciously through me, assaulting my senses with maddening pleasure. My chest swelled as I required more and more oxygen with every passing second. My heart pumped ravenous flames through my veins that made every cell of my body ridiculously alive to every touch that he gave and aware of every movement that he made.

_Oh, dear God_... I melted in his arms, a moan rolling from deep within my chest as his mouth slanted over mine again and again. My closed eyelids fluttered with fervent desire. Our hushed, jagged breath was almost in perfect unison, mingling sinuously in the heated air all around us. Every sound and every touch was made electric and potent in the flickering darkness. This was different than our earlier kisses, a new level of passion, of want and of need... I curled my arms around his neck, sitting up and pushing against his knees in a need to be even closer to him. His thoughts seemed to be upon the same mental train as mine were, seeing as he then spread his legs, allowing me to fall with little grace against his chest, making me gasp with surprise as heat flushed within my face. He caught me up in his arms, a hot chuckle slipping from between his pale lips and curling with seductive wickedness around my mind...

I shuddered, my heart thundering in my chest. He was always able to surprise me – I never knew what to expect from him, no matter how long I'd known him and loved him – and that had caught me off guard on more than one occasion. I hadn't truly expected anything like this, at least not tonight when he'd so recently returned to me, but I couldn't deny that I wanted it – wanted _him_, more than I wanted anyone else. I trailed my hand against his face, moving it slowly across his jaw, down his neck, and then settling it against his chest. I felt his heart beat swiftly beneath my subtly-trembling fingers, the fabric of his shirt soft against my skin.

Our gazes met for an instant, a deep, mutual longing in both of our eyes. Unable to deny the ache for him in my lips, I lowered my face to his, feeling his lean but strong body pressed against mine as one of his hands buried itself securely into my tangling hair once more while the other wrapped around my waist, holding me to him. His knees also blocked me in at my sides. My blood surged in my lips, pounded in my ears in a disjointed, spastic rhythm. I pushed him back against the couch, running my fingers through his tangled black hair, relishing the delightful softness of it. My fingernails grazed from his thigh to his knee and I heard his toes curl against the leather of the couch. It was all so overwhelming. I had to pause for just a moment in an attempt to regain my sanity what little self-control remained, gasping for breath and shivering when he whispered my name into the shadows.

He obviously did not need to withhold any sort of grasp on a more-sensible (and admittedly less romantic and fantastic) situation. His lips pressed warmly into my throat, making sensations ripple to climactic heats within me. Soft moans of pleasure slipped from his mouth, like those of when he was dining upon an exclusively-reserved and delicious dessert. Their repeated sounds seemed to caress my hungry skin, as if each taste of me deserved its own sound of appreciation... I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't even keep _track_ of how many different ways his lips moved against my neck as he ravaged me and relished my taste as if I were his most favorite confectionary treat. I couldn't help but smile with delight at the thought, though it was quick to disappear when he trailed his tongue along the edge of my jaw.

My heart lurched in my chest, my eyes widening. Slowly, patronizingly, he lowered his head and drew a perfect circle with his tongue in the hollow at the base of my throat, pressing a long, alluring kiss at its center as his nose brushed deftly across my collarbones. My toes curled audibly against the leather couch as well, a whimper slipping from my trembling lips and draping the heated air between us like sun-warmed velvet. He was consuming me, and I was next to powerless to resist him even if I'd wanted to. He took it even further by pulling me recklessly close, one hand gripping my back as the other curled just behind my knee. He then maneuvered me so smoothly and skillfully so that I was lying upon my back on the couch with him hovering just above me before I really even knew what was happening.

My heart threatened to punch out of my chest. He gazed down at me for just a moment, his night-colored hair hanging raggedly in his flaming black eyes as they burned with undeniable desire. For me and only me. I was the only being in his world – and he was the only one in mine. We could have been floating in a void of nothingness instead of a well-furnished room and I wouldn't have known the difference. I gazed up at him, my eyes wide and glazed – but not fearful. I wasn't afraid and I wasn't hesitant. I watched, hypnotized, as a small droplet of sweat trailed down the side of his face, slipping silently from his tangled black hair and traveling downward until it dripped off of his chin and onto the warm flesh stretched over my collarbones. My breath hitched when his black eyes slid downward for just a moment, gazing where the droplet had fallen, before he looked up at me again and didn't give me a moment to prepare before his mouth was on mine once more.

I curled my arms around his neck, lifting my leg and running it alongside his, the fabrics scraping together audibly. He groaned quietly into my mouth, making chills ripple behind my spine. It was then that his tongue trailed against my lower lip, making me gasp quietly with unrestrained passion. My hands gripped his back, my entire body shivering with tangible feeling and emotion and heat. His fingers trailed up my bare arms, all the way to the collar of my shirt, which they pulled slightly to the side to allow his lips to reach the sensitive skin he found there. I gasped out his name as he added the slightest pressure against my shoulder with his teeth, his tongue trailing lightly against the hungry flesh that he'd enclosed there within his unbelievably capable and clever mouth...

When his fingertips trailed along the inside edge of the bottom of my shirt in a slow, steady caress that made my heart tremble, I knew I was losing any and all control – and then his mouth was on mine, not reversing the process at all as his tongue became unbelievably persuasive as it asked my lips so irresistibly to allow it entrance... My hands were metaphorically slipping from the ledge of coherency as I dangled above a smoldering black abyss of new desires and pleasures and experiences...and he was pulling me down... When his hand slid beneath my shirt, his warm fingertips trailing slowly and strongly across the heated flesh of my stomach, making their passionately-escalating way upward as my clouded eyes widened, it was then that a strangely familiar ringing, three mechanical notes in quick succession, echoed throughout the room.

I started with surprise, my body overly-alive to everything at the moment. L's lips froze against mine for an instant before he drew back, the sound of our mouths unwillingly separating a tantalizing suck. Blatant confusion dominated our expressions for an instant as we both gasped quietly for breath. It was then that we both realized that the noise had come from L's laptop, on the table across the room. He was being called. Words crawled with bloated, pleasure-clouded protest through my buzzing mind.

_...Now...? But WWHHYY...?_

With adorably-obvious reluctance, L sighed heavily, his breath breezing patronizingly across the skin of my neck, the locations of slight moisture from his tongue and teeth cooling softly. Still, he smiled rather enigmatically and, without too much resistance, he moved off of me and got onto his feet. The fabrics of our clothes had scraped and slid warmly together, though I was already feeling the coolness of his absence across my skin. His hair and clothing were visibly ruffled, his black eyes gleaming as he held his pale white hand out for me to take. Licking my lips to stifle their tingles and still attempting to regulate my breathing, I curled my fingers around his and allowed him to delicately help me to sit up and then stand upon my own two feet beside him.

I straightened my shirt and tried to get my hair into reasonable order. I heard L chuckle quietly with amusement at my slightly frantic attempts to compose myself. I was aware of the fact that he didn't have to bother with making his hair or clothing look exceptionally well put together, seeing as it wasn't that drastic of an alteration from how he looked regularly. It was slightly unfair that I had to return to a previous appearance when he didn't, but then again, I loved how he looked – I wouldn't have changed a thing about him if I'd been able to. I looked up after I'd finished fixing my shirt and smiled at him, and by the way his own smile widened slightly and his dark eyes continued to flame subtly as he gazed at me, it seemed he was quite pleased by what he saw as well, even if it was a little more tangled and ruffled and flustered than usual...

Despite my aims to contain my excitement, it stubbornly refused to dwindle. Ridiculous giggles of simple pleasure threatened to burst from my throat, though I attempted to be as professional as possible as we obediently answered L's summoning message. Our minds having a little trouble readjusting to the sudden change in the situation, my heart still racing in my chest as my body chose random intervals of time to shiver, we made our way together over to the computer with the large Old English _W_ on the screen. _Watari_. My curiosity was piqued immediately and we both quickened our paces. L sat in his familiar crouched position in the chair in front of the computer while I sat upon its arm, watching the screen as L delicately prodded a key on the keyboard with his finger and opened the communication link.

"Ah, L, I was just calling to make sure you'd made it home safely and that everything was all right," said a pleasantly-aged voice from the synthetic speakers. I smiled at the sound of it, forgetting for a while just how much I'd missed Watari as well. L smiled, his black eyes gleaming again just behind the obscuring fringe of his ragged black hair.

"I assure you, I am quite fine, Watari. Thank you for your concern," he responded smoothly, his tone formal yet friendly. I spoke up then, wanting to get in a greeting of my own.

"Hello, Watari," I said to the screen, my smile widening at how good it felt to say his name, to speak to him even if it was through a machine.

"Hello, my dear. I trust you are quite safe and sound as well?" he said to me. I grinned in response, though I wasn't certain that he could see it – I also wondered if he could see L's hand closed softly around mine, resting in plain sight upon the arm of the chair. It wasn't a secret to Watari that we were together, but still, I wasn't too keen to flaunt our relationship in front of the man that was the closest thing L had to a father, someone who was almost a father to me as well and who I loved and respected enough to use a little discretion when I was around him.

"Yes, Watari, everything's fine...It's positively wonderful to have L back. Thank you for helping to keep him safe," I informed him earnestly, my hand tightening around L's in emphasis of how much it meant to me that he was here. I noticed his lips curl into a smile, his dark eyes peering up at me for a moment from beneath his shadowing black bangs and gleaming warmly with similarly meaningful emotions before he looked back at the screen.

"It was certainly a pleasure to do so, my dear. I assure you, it was more than worth it, especially now that he has you," Watari responded smoothly, making my brow lift in the slightest expression of surprise. It was pleasant to me that he was so supportive of what L and I had. It warmed my heart all over again to realize how much he cared.

"Oh...Thank you, Watari," I murmured, so touched by his words. He merely chuckled in response, though I knew he understood how much what he had said meant to me.

"You're quite welcome... I'll leave you two to your remaining evening now that I'm sure of your well-being," he said smoothly, a smile able to be heard in his synthetically-distorted voice, "Good night."

L and I both smiled in return, speaking warm _good-night_'s of our own in farewell to our mutual friend. The large Old English W disappeared when the communication link was terminated and the screen went black, leaving L and I sitting upon the chair together in shadows, our backs faintly illuminated by the flickering television a ways behind us. I was so relieved to still have Watari as well as L, knowing that the Kira case could have also cost him his life. Despite so many opportunities to lose everything, I still had so very much.

And I was the luckiest girl in the world.

I was content with simply sitting beside L and enjoying his company, seeing as I felt temporarily more awakened with the warm embers remaining from our previous, passionate displays of affection and the formally coherent conversation with Watari, so I wasn't anxious to go to sleep even though the longing for it still brushed softly at the edges of my mind. And yet, it seemed L still desired to be even closer to me. Without warning, I felt his arm curl around my waist and pull. I had no time to attempt to regain my balance and, as I yelped softly with surprise, he dragged me down into his lap, lowering his previously-folded legs to better accommodate me as I fell suddenly sideways and down. I wasn't much help with catching myself at all at that point, but he was quick to secure me in his arms, abruptly ceasing my backward motion and holding me close.

When I finally gained my bearings, my tangled hair was tossed raggedly in my face as a result of my unexpected travels, my back was pressed firmly against the thick, cushioned arm of the chair, my legs were lying over the opposite arm, and I found myself staring up into L's deep black eyes, his body curled slightly into being poised above me, his lips mere inches from mine. My heart hiccupped and heat rushed into my face, making my breath catch with surprise in my lack of preparation for his actions.

As I stared wide-eyed back at him, I knew without a doubt that he could see how he affected me – his sharp, perceptive eyes caught everything, every tremble and every shiver and every blush. It was part of his occupation to not miss a single detail, and I couldn't deny that it was a very personal thing to love a detective who was so very good at what he did – there was always the knowledge of just how much he could learn just by looking at me, just how little I could hide... It could be rather embarrassing at times, I couldn't help but admit...and yet, as a charming smile curled his lovely pale lips, a wordlessly-wonderful reassurance, I couldn't help but be glad that, if anyone was going to be able to deduce and discover everything about my heart, I was glad it was him.

The sheer happiness in his expression that seemed to come from knowing just how much I loved him appeared to be more valuable and fulfilling to him than any other conclusion his brilliant intellect could make, so much more than a genius deduction to him... My heart was warmed all the way through. His face still alight with playful enjoyment, he reached up smoothly with a hand that was previously wrapped around my back and gently removed a ragged collection of tangled strands of hair from my face with a gentle stroke of his pale fingertip, running it down the length of my face and touching it softly to a corner of my freshly-uncovered mouth. My lips parted slightly at his touch as my breath hitched a little in my throat. The involuntary reaction didn't miss his acute notice and I felt my face warm beneath his meaningful, relishing gaze as his lips also parted.

I had a reckonable ability to wield logic and reasoning to reach accurate conclusions as well (having learned from the best) and it made my heart-rate quicken to perceive the hunger in his eyes as he stared at me. He lowered his head, his long black hair effectively hiding his eyes from my view as he stooped until he was able to trail his lips down the entire length of my throat. I gulped unevenly in response, shivering as his arms tightened around me and his mouth left a path of warm, sensual kisses across my neck and shoulders until he'd reached the collar of my shirt.

"Am I _correct_ in making the _assumption_ that you'd be willing _to_..._finish what we started _earlierthis ideal evening?" His voice came in a low, luscious whisper of roiling flames against my skin, making the air harder to breathe. As he'd spoken, his hand had shifted against my side and lowered until his fingers reached the hem of my shirt. His hand had smoothly slipped beneath it and trailed up the expanse of the warm, bare skin of my back, climbing higher with every wonderful word he had uttered into the night. Chills rippled all the way down my spine and seemed to tremble at the very edges of my hyper-conscious mind. Speechless, I trembled against him as his fiery question, filled with promise and possibility, did strange new things to the way my heart beat. The bare skin of my back, exposed to the coolness of the room after his rising hand had lifted my shirt upward, prickled with feeling as goosebumps appeared all across its surface.

I blinked and searched for words, unable to find any with my currently-frazzled state of mind. L moved even closer, not aiding in the return of my coherency at all as he ceased to hover over me and instead aligned his body with mine. My heart pounded as I felt his warmth in so many places, the cool fabric of his shirt soft against my bare stomach where he'd uncovered it. He shifted his legs out from under me, his jeans scraping loosely against the leather of the couch as he straddled my waist. I gripped his back for support, needing something with a tangible and solid reality to hold onto as my mind and body continued to plunge down into the multi-colored depths where fantasies and dreams ran wild. And yet, as I addressed the fact that my current relationship with the most amazing man I'd ever known could be seen as so very imaginary and dreamlike, I knew it was so much better – because it was real. The feel of his lips against my throat as I rested my chin against his hunched shoulder was better than anything my subconscious could conjure as a mind-muddled image or the ghost of a feeling.

"_Well_..?" he murmured with intense curiosity against the feverish skin of my neck, bringing his previous question back into my consciousness. The way his lips moved around the word made me shiver against him. I felt his thumb trail down the length of my spine, making my body arch toward his in response as I thought of how he pressed the same finger so delicately to the lips that were now smiling against my throat. I couldn't refrain from smiling in return as I curled my arms around his neck and found my breathless voice.

"You _have_ to _ask_?" I gasped quietly to him, my fingernails grazing his shoulder blades, making his white shirt stretch beneath my fingers as my lips brushed against his ear. His disheveled black hair tickled my face, making me giggle softly as I felt him stiffen in response to my touch. I felt him sigh against my throat, as if he too needed a moment to catch his breath now. His hands moved slowly against my back again, his fingertips sliding against my shoulders and beginning to maneuver my sleeves down my arms and remove them. I loosened my arms around his neck, bending them at the elbows and helping him by pulling them out of my bothersome shirt, my heart pounding all the while.

"I find your answers _enlightening_..." he murmured, his voice low and warm with an appealing roughness to it, as he gathered my shirt in his hands and began to slide it upward, "...and I knew there was a forty percent chance that your _previous_ lethargy would have had _ample_ _time_ to return and strengthen with the allotted time to do so after I was _called_..." The fabric of my shirt was warm around my neck and against my face as he lifted it over my head, temporarily depriving me of the sight of him and the access to his mouth that I so deeply craved. It was a great relief when my shirt was behind me, pillowing behind my head and wrapping around my hair. His arms encircled me, lifting me up tightly against him so that he could pull my shirt free from my hair before lowering me back to the couch, following me down.

"...So I simply wanted to give you the _courtesy_ of asking..._even if_ the answer I was inclined to expect was _statistically_ _more_ _likely_ to be _yes_," he finished, speaking in a heated, hungry voice that seemed to rise from deep within his chest to pour warmly and swiftly across my aroused flesh. When the final, maddeningly delicious word came out of his mouth, my shirt hit the floor a few feet away from the chair with the soft sound of collapsing fabric. The hand that he'd used to casually discard it returned to me, trailing down my bare side, tracing the slight undulations of my ribs just beneath my skin with disorientating and delicate curiosity.

A weak whimper shivered its way out of my mouth, another indicator of just how much he affected me.

"..._I'm not tired anymore_..." I murmured softly to him, every word smoldering as it slipped from my lips as they still tingled vibrantly with the magnificent taste of him...

It was true – I was too on fire to fall back asleep. Of that, I was certain.

I felt him pause, as if he were taking a split second to fully absorb just what my statement had meant...

...And then he smiled, his black eyes blazing ravenously behind the ragged fringe of his night-dark hair...

Though he didn't say it, I could feel his answer in the very marrow of my bones and the chambers of my heart – I could hear his wonderful, flaming voice murmuring it into the night even though it didn't truly pass between his lips – I could taste the sweet yet spicy words on my tongue as if he had whispered them into my eager mouth himself:

_You will be._

A shiver of pleasure that verged on violent racked my body, making his grip upon me tighten in response.

But I wasn't afraid.

I was ready.

I was ready to lie beside him, exhausted and euphoric beyond measure...

I leaned even closer to him, pulling the loose collar of his white shirt down and pressing my lips to the top of his chest, nearly on top of his wonderful heart. I heard his breath catch softly in the back of his throat, felt his arms wrap with savoring deliberation around my back, his hands warm and the fabric of his shirt cool against my skin. I wanted to feel his heart beat against mine – and his shirt was an intolerable barrier to that. My lips traveled up his throat, placing kiss after kiss against his smooth, pale skin. I curved my mouth around his jaw and slid it along until I could trail my tongue up his chin and place a kiss upon his lips. He responded passionately, pushing me back against the arm of the chair and devouring my mouth with his own. A low, ragged moan burst from my chest when he drew a circle around my navel with his thumb, his nimble fingers beginning to travel lower...

I gripped him tighter, my nails grazing his shoulder blades before I reached toward his lower back and seized handfuls of his shirt. I slid it upward along his body like he had done to me only moments before, and I felt his legs stiffen on either side of me as I allowed my fingers to trail against his back as I bared it to the cool night air and the warmth of my touch. I pulled the loose white article of clothing over his head, making his hair even more ruffled and spastic. He helped me remove his arms from his shirt, pulling me against his chest as I hurled the article of clothing aside with a trembling gasp. My heart thumped against his as we came together, my skin seeming to surge with heat as it came into contact with his in so many places.

My closed eyelids fluttered as I relished the wonderful feel of him, still so very glad that he was there with me tonight. No night could be as perfectly amazing as the one I was savoring right now with my beloved L... He cradled me close to him, making my body flare up like never before with each and every embrace, and rolled smoothly in the chair so that he was beneath me. I'd never been so fascinated by gravity as it pulled my body down on top of his, a wondrous new weight to my position. My face warmed with our proximity, the feel of his lithe, pale, uncovered chest beneath my hands one of immensely fascinating pleasure. His shadowed black eyes stared up at me, so perceptive and deep... I trembled under the weight of his observant gaze. It didn't escape his notice and he curled a light but strong arm around my back, holding me closer to him. His other hand pulled my face down to his. Aided by gravity, it faced no resistance from me.

My hair fell around us like a wonderful curtain, shadowing our faces in darkness by blocking out the flickering light from the television that was still on a few feet away. It also enclosed the audibility of our embrace, allowing me to more clearly hear my blood pounding in my ears and my swift, jagged breathing as it mingled with his. His mouth was ardent and amorous as it moved so wonderfully against mine. Each kiss satisfied my famished hunger for him but left me positively ravenous for more. His lips pressed against mine so powerfully and with such knee-weakening passion that I almost collapsed on top of him, a tremulous moan rolling within my chest and out of my mouth. He decided to use his pleasurable influence over me to his advantage, taking my face more securely in his hand and using the other to grip my back and slide my body upward against his. I whimpered at the feel of his pale skin moving slowly and sinuously against mine, leaning into his palm for need of support. He groaned quietly as well, his breath sliding across my face as he kissed my upper and lower lip in turn before ravaging my mouth with his as a whole.

His fingers swept backward across my cheek and slipped into my hair, pressing strongly against the nape of my neck and making me release a low, luscious sigh of pleasure. I shivered as his tongue flicked against my lips, my heart stuttering when it traveled lower, sliding down the skin of my throat with such sultry smoothness and leaving a hot, wet trail against my lively skin. He made a deep, hungry, growling sound as he tasted my collarbones, his mouth delving even lower down my front until it reached a portion of my chest that the removal of my shirt had uncovered. I gasped raggedly when he pressed a series of savory sweet kisses into my heated skin, emitting a murmuring moan of pleasure between each one. My head tilted back, my body arching further into his exhilarating displays of affection, my closed eyelids fluttering as I sucked in air through my open mouth.

_Oh, God_... I'd never felt such desire before – it perfumed our air, laced our movements, enveloped our simultaneously-racing hearts. It was positively remarkable, fantastically amazing, overwhelmingly magnificent... Beyond words. As L's mouth traveled back up my throat, brushing slowly and softly beneath my jaw, I lowered my head and captured it up in a kiss. I moved my hands down his chest, feeling his muscles clench in response to my touch. My fingers trailed across his abs, my fingernail encircling his navel with slow, savoring relish. We trembled together, and I traced every curve and contour of his warm, smooth, pale skin that lay bare and irresistible beneath me. It wasn't long before I reached the waistline of his jeans, running a playful finger along the border between the fabric and his flesh. I felt him shudder beneath me as his breath hitched in his chest, felt his legs tighten on either side of me, holding me closely where I was. I took hold of the button of his pants, undoing it and setting to work on the zipper. My heart resembled war drums with its constant, thunderous pounding, but my fingers were steady as I began maneuvering his jeans down his hips.

I wanted to run my mouth across his chest and down his stomach and back up again, but the other side of the chair boxed me in where I was on top of him. Not much room for moving forward or backward. I began to realize for the first time that there wasn't much availability for motion on this particular piece of furniture and began to wonder if there was something more suitable...like the bed in the other room. My face warmed with yet another blush, but I also couldn't refrain from smiling against L's delectable mouth. I'd thought myself too tired previously to make it to the bed, and that I could have fallen asleep against him at the kitchen table, but now I knew I was certainly awake enough to physically make it to the bedroom. I was certainly awake enough for _other_ things... My blush deepened to scarlet, but it didn't matter.

I continued to slide L's pants further down his legs, the loose, faded blue fabric traveling easily across his skin, seeming to almost help me along. However, I couldn't get them passed his knees, seeing as his legs were on either side of me. That put me directly in the way of the much-desired removal of his jeans. L was as immediately aware of that hindrance as I was. As soon as my hands hesitated, he rose up beneath me, bracing himself with his arms and moving until we were virtually sitting vertically on the couch, still partially intertwined. He clutched me close to his chest, my bare skin sparking hotly as it strongly and steadily contacted his. He pulled his legs into a crouch beneath him, his folded knees separating us slightly while his superb balance allowed him to easily lean over me and get toe-curling leverage as his mouth devoured mine. The strength and passion made me tremble.

Though my head felt rather light and airy, I was aware that I was now out of the way and continued to slide his pants down his legs, maneuvering them over his knees and pulling them down to his ankles. That was about as far as I could go without his help. Keeping his lips against mine, he smoothly stepped out of his pants the rest of the way, maintaining his balance and kicking them across the room before returning his attention, in its entirety, to me. He pressed me back into the arm of the chair that was just behind me, his body curving lithely over mine while his arms braced on either side of me held him up. His mouth was mind-numbingly pleasurable against my throat, his lips and tongue creating strange and unpredictable patterns against the hungry skin of my collar and shoulders. I shuddered as his hands trailed down my back, tracing the edge of my bra strap before traveling lower and curling around my sides until they reached my hips. He took the waistline of my pants between his fingers and pulled them downward, exposing the skin of my legs to the coolness of the room. Goosebumps rose into prickling being, making me pull him closer for the heat I hungrily craved.

I bent my legs at the knees to ease the task of removing my pants, which L did with quick skillfulness, dragging the material down my shins and pulling it around my ankles and off of my feet. He hurled them across the room as well, creating a small pile of discarded clothing in the process. His hands returned to me with such ridiculously wonderful focus, delectably directed at my freshly-uncovered skin. His fingers curled around my ankles, pulling my legs closer to him before beginning a slow and savoring journey upward. The feelings inside of me were almost too much to bear... His hands trailed up my calves, brushed across my trembling knees, and then slid up my thighs in such a way that made my entire body seem to tense up all at once and shudder as it ached for his. My feet slipped against the surface of the chair that was subtly warmed by the heat our bodies had shared and created. A tremulous moan rolled from my throat and out in-between my weakly-parted lips. His inquisitive yet determined fingers caressed the naked skin of my hips indulgently, brushing across the fabric of my underwear once or twice – making me aware of how I disliked the continued presence of fabric between us and wished it to soon be gone as well – and then slowly, sinuously trailing back down toward my knees.

My frazzled, heated brain was having trouble thinking of much of anything right now, though I was coherent enough to wonder why he hadn't bothered with the rest of my clothing just yet... I was insanely curious to know what he was planning, having a feeling that he'd already summoned some sort of delightfully delicious process into his undeniably-genius mind. A breathless smile curled my lips when I realized that, to know what he was planning to do – to me – all I would have to do was _wait_... A shudder of immense anticipation seized my body when L's hands curved around my bare shoulders and lifted me into an upright, sitting position in the chair, pulling me into a kiss so strong that I had to hold onto his knees and bend my own beneath me for support, kneeling in the chair to get a remotely stable surface to be on while his mouth feasted on mine, drawing yet another ragged moan from deep in my chest.

Just as I was almost finished melting into a dribbling pool beneath the onslaught of his ludicrously-capable lips, he surprised me by kneeling in the chair as well. He lowered his knees out of his crouched position and maneuvered them between mine. He then took hold of my folded legs, just behind my knees, and pulled me forward and up into his lap, so that I was straddling his hips with my own and facing him. The way my bare skin had slid against his with warm, arousing friction..._u-ugh_. My blood surged hotly through my body and a heated throbbing occurred between my legs, pulsing in time with my racing heartbeat. Every ragged breath I took shivered and shook with feeling. His fingers pressed against my back, rolling up my spine, making me arch my body into his as my head lolled weakly back for a moment as a shuddering gasp tore from my lips. His pale hands gripped my back with fervent strength that he didn't appear to be capable of mustering at first glance, though I certainly knew better... He held me tightly against him, allowing me to relish the always-present rush of his skin against mine.

I pressed my trembling lips to his shoulder, trailing my tongue along his collarbones and shivering again when his hands traveled lower, trailing with slow tenderness down the length of my spine. Chills rippled all across my back, my entire body hyper-alive to him and his touch. I felt his uneven breath on my hair, heard the moan rumble in his chest when I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled it more tightly against mine, tightening my legs on either side of him and holding him as close to me as possible. His hands flowed across my hips once again, moving provocatively down my legs a short distance before moving back up with unexpected swiftness, his thumbs dipping in-between my upper thighs and making a ragged, breathless, gasp rip from my chest. My eyes snapped open, wide and glazed and clouded with glistening pleasure. I seized L for support, resting my chin atop his bare shoulder and holding him close as my heart pounded in my throat. I felt small beads of sweat form on my upper lip and along my hairline. His hands slowed down slightly, though he didn't stop. I didn't want him to. A wanting the likes of which I'd never felt was constricting every vein and every pore and every cell of my body. _I wanted him so badly_ – and I was _so blessed_ to have him. My heart swelled wonderfully within me as my eyes slipped closed yet again.

His hands shifted their grasp on my thighs, rolling outward and sliding up around my hips, his grip tightening until a whimper shivered from between my lips. As my knees bent and my toes curled, I twined my legs around his waist and used them to pull him even closer to me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying one of my hands in his disorderly hair and pressing a line of kisses up his throat and along his jaw until I could once again press my lips to his. He returned my kiss hungrily, making me tremble against him as his fingertips swept briefly beneath the edge of my underwear, again and again in maddening succession. Another whimper slipped from my mouth as he trailed his tongue against my lips, nudging at my upper and lower one in turn and coaxing my mouth open. Ah, the _wet heat_... His silent persuasions were irresistible, and my lips parted for him with a deep sigh of surrender. My eyes opened wide when his tongue contacted mine with a dramatic but determined flourish, tingles erupting in what felt like my every blood vessel. There was swirling and swaying and rolling as our mouths continued to collide, his lips pressing deliciously against mine as his tongue continued to work wonders. I moaned as I melted once again in his arms, my breath audibly hitching in my throat when he flicked his tongue against the roof of my mouth, causing a sensual explosion within my consciousness.

He groaned as well as I began to respond, deepening the kiss that we were already both drowning in. He clutched me closer, one hand sliding up my back and holding my face to his while the other curled around my waist, keeping me securely against his almost-naked body – right where I wanted to be. My heart throbbed with heavenly praises and my blood was berserk in my veins, and it was all because of him. My ecstatic euphoria climbed even higher when I felt his legs shift beneath me, felt them swing over the edge of the chair. I tensed with trembling pleasure as he lifted me easily off of the piece of furniture we'd been seated upon and began to carry my barely-clothed form through the night air, making goosebumps ripple into being and giving me even more reason to hold him closer, though it wasn't like it was necessary – one hardly needed a reason to embrace the one they loved. His unbearable focus was intensely on me as he moved throughout the room and it only took me a heat-muddled moment to realize that he was heading toward the bedroom door that was approximately only a few feet behind us at the moment.

My face didn't redden or burn – I was passed the point of any sort of embarrassment toward our mutual feelings. Plus, my blood was so lively and hot that it hardly made a difference for it to warm any more. My heart thrilled like never before. My every cell was screaming with excitement. I couldn't contain myself, though I let my mouth against his speak for me, not wishing to attempt to communicate my overwhelming emotions with inferior words. Anticipation seemed to flow across my very skin, my body hyper-aware of what was coming. I knew, as mind-twistingly fantastic as what we had already done was, we were both capable of _so much_ _more_. I wanted to explore all we were together – with him and only him. And now that he had returned safe and sound from the recently-closed Kira case, we were immensely enjoying our newfound freedom to let our love flourish beyond the limit.

His slouched stance was an interesting factor as he carried me, seeing as it allowed him to easily bend his mouth over mine with wonderful power and familiar control. His balance was his leverage, and it was driving me crazy. Our bodies were partially curled against each other, me backward and him forward, and his being accustomed to such a position allowed him to be confidently dominating in a way that most other men would have struggled with. He was remarkable, fascinating, talented, amazing – and all mine. My head spun wildly with swirling clouds of pleasure as he reached the bedroom, taking just a moment to shove me up against the door. The painted surface was hard and cool against my back, though I found the contrast delectably stirring in comparison to how warm and soft his skin was. His body pressed strongly and steadily against mine, making my heart lurch at the tangible way his muscles and flesh and blood clearly were the instruments with which he conveyed and satisfied his desire. Once again, anticipation seemed to bubble from within me and spill out all across my skin, sparking my every pore with passion as it metaphorically dripped onto the floor a few feet beneath me.

I felt his arm shift its grasp and wrap securely around me once again, pulling me away from the door and back into his embrace. I heard him brush his hand across the door, heard his fingers close around the knob that was slightly loose in its socket and turn the cool metal in his grasp. I heard the soft sound of air being pushed aside as he opened the door widely. I felt his feet move into the threshold of the bedroom, felt my heart pound against his, felt my skin surge and my head cloud and my lips throb. This was it. We were there. And I was ready. I wasn't tired, and neither was he – _but we soon would be_. I could _feel_ it in the air – the air that had almost seemed to become a deep pool of eager expectancy, one like water that made every movement graceful and slow and beautiful, made every sound a lingering, echoing resonance, made every taste one that billowed into the conscious mind and consumed every thought with its rippling wonder. My world was rising, swelling in a marvelous crescendo. His mouth had never been so fantastically delectable, his skin had never been so flawlessly smooth and savory, his body had never felt so strong and supportive and inviting. And just as he was about to drop me onto the bed and follow me down – we heard it.

Over our uneven, gasping breath – we heard it.

Over the roaring of our own blood – we heard it.

Three of the same notes in quick, measured succession.

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**Holy Crap, I really have got to reign in my tendency to describe things so much! Sorry if it seemed dragged out or boring.  
**

**I never expected this chapter that started just as a little blip to turn into such a beast!**

**Now that I've actually finished it, I know that it's probably too much to read in one chapter.**

**I'll be splitting it into two parts, just to make it easier.**

**I hope you've been enjoying it and I encourage you to read and review.**

**I haven't publicly published anything seriously romantic, so if any of the chapters need constructive criticism and feedback, it is certainly this one.**

**This could be a big learning experience for me.**

**So **_**PLEASE**_** take the time to inform me of your thoughts. **

**Thanks again!**

**Much love! 3**

**~SD**


	4. Chapter 4 Alternate Ending Part 2

**Hey everyone! **

**I'm back with more!**

**I hope you're loving **_**Safe and Warm**_** as much as I am. :)**

**Thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews, and I ask again for a few more regarding this alternate ending bit. I need feedback on my written romance, seeing as I'm inexperienced and don't really know what I'm doing with it. *chuckles sheepishly* So yes, please let me know what you think, especially on this one. It could be really good for me as a writer.**

**This is the last of it. I'm pretty sure I've exhausted this story, now four full chapters/parts.**

**So much for a little one-shot... 0_O**

**I apologize if its lacking in anything or if I didn't do enough or did too much.**

**As I've said, I'm still learning how to write romantically, but I feel like this went pretty well.**

**Still, I'd like to introduce it to a bigger community and get some second opinions.**

**Thank you all for your time and feedback, and I hope you enjoy the last installment of **_**Safe and Warm**_**.**

********Again, more-adult content than the first to chapters, I think. Heads up and all that.**

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own L or any other aspects of Death Note. It all belongs to Takeshi Obata and Tsugumi Ohba.**

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Safe and Warm

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Alternate Ending - Chapter 3 Part 2

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The realization that he was being called _yet again_ from the laptop in front of the chair that we'd long since left behind was slow and verged on painful. The room seemed to lose some of its lovely liquid with the heated, passionate depths. Instead the remainders of the fluid washed with slight confusion against the walls. The delicious and maddening pleasure in my mind seemed to stop whirling and roiling with overwhelming vigor. Instead the remaining emotions and images slowed and wandered around in search of what they'd been just a moment ago. We froze once again, our minds making the conscious adjustments with dragging reluctance and stubborn unwillingness. L stiffened, his lips drawing with agonizing slowness away from mine. My entire body seemed to ache all at once in any sort of absence of him, something close to a scream of protest welling up within my throat, though I stifled it to the best of my ability and instead made a soft, subdued sound of utmost disapproval.

L continued to hold me close, but his body straightened slightly, his head pulling back a short distance. He knew just as well as I did what the call entailed, what it meant. He'd answered it without hesitation every time before, but now... Though he was moving, I sensed his disinclination. Still attempting to resist the sudden change in our situation, I opened my eyes to observe him. His dark eyes bored unrelentingly into mine, making my shallow breath catch raggedly in my chest that was pressed with knee-weakening strength against his when I truly viewed how very strongly his desire for me remained with him despite the interruption. My skin seemed to tighten and tremble beneath his fiery black gaze. It took him a long, silent moment to finally drag his eyes away from me, forcing them to slide off of my face and allow him to glance just over his bare shoulder at the computer far behind us. His disheveled ebony hair was even more unkempt than usual, spears of night splaying in random directions, reaching every which way and falling into his face without reason or restriction. His black gaze drilled through the chaotic sable strands in a way that suggested he was very thoroughly considering taking a large, heavy object and dropping it onto his computer at that moment. I had never before considered the possibility of the commencement of such an action from one as dedicated and passionate about his work as L.

His eyes slid back to me then, capturing me up into his gaze and refusing to let me go. I stared back at him silently with wide, glazed eyes. My lips, tingling hotly, were parted to allow my ragged breathing easier entrance and exit into my desperate lungs. My hair was tangled behind my head and in front of my warm, reddened face, the strands obscuring my sight of him and making him resemble a noble, feral beast gazing hungrily at me through the shadowed depths of an endless, untamed forest. His desire was still heart-wrenchingly evident in his expression, making my blood continue to surge. He looked undeniably magnificent, alive and hungry and free, wanting and needing only me at a level that made the air hard to breathe sometimes. I couldn't refrain from gently stroking his face, feeling his silken skin warm beneath my touch as his chaotic black hair lightly brushed across the back of my hand. He was so _wonderful_... _My love, my L_...

My legs were still wrapped around his waist, his arms still curled strongly around my back and holding my bare skin against his. The heat and tension and want were still undeniably present – the moment wasn't entirely ruined. True, the computer was another source of light in the room behind us, but it was silent now, so very _ignorable_... Part of me considered pulling his face to mine and dragging him down onto the bed and tearing our passionate displays of affection right back into smoldering being as if nothing had changed. I knew we could even enjoy the sudden rush of returning to the climactic level we'd been at and hadn't completely fallen from in a few brief seconds... Oh, it was tempting, _so unbearably and mouth-wateringly __**tempting**__..._ But I couldn't reject the fact that I knew the call meant something. It was part of who L was – he was always ready to save the entire world at a moment's summoning. It was part of his obligation as the greatest detective on earth – he answered his calls.

Now that I'd realized that we couldn't continue just yet, I swallowed roughly, lowering my eyes in an attempt to prevent my moral judgment from being eaten up by the distracting attractiveness of his handsome face. However, the sight of his smoothly curving shoulders and perfectly muscled chest and flawlessly pale skin glistening beneath a thin sheen of sweat certainly wasn't much easier on my distracted mind... Oh, how I longed to lower my head even more and use my tongue to _taste_ – I tried to stifle the blush-inducing thoughts before my body warmed up to the ideas slipping with sinuous stealth into my frazzled mind and failed terribly. His arms tightened around me, making it even harder to concentrate as his skin brushed strongly and surely against mine. It was as if he'd realized right then that I was internally conflicted and was currently swaying toward the choice that didn't involve answering the laptop and instead involved the cool, tangling bed-covers and the heavy, sucking darkness and the hot, sliding flesh and the _flaming, passionate moans when_ – I winced mentally as I unintentionally released a hushed, breathless, gasp that hitched in my throat and revealed far too much about how little the laptop was starting to mean to me.

_No. He answered his calls. __**Always**__._

I closed my eyes for a moment in an attempt to think clearly, steadying my hand against his face and making my fingers cease to tremble.

"...L, you _really_ _should_–" I began quietly, murmuring softly into his collar and attempting to convey the right side of my internal battle before he stopped me, making my eyes snap open with ardent surprise. I felt his thumb against my lips, pressing delicately and yet firmly as he silenced me. I could feel my blood pulsing hotly against his fingers, shivers coursing down my spine as his hand curled beneath my chin and lifted my face up to his. While his large black eyes hypnotized me, his thumb pulled slightly downward on my lower lip until he reached my chin and let go, allowing my lip to snap back up into place, making hot sensations spark at the edges of my mind. He leaned even closer, allowing me to taste his sweet breath once again on the tip of my tongue...

"..._Let them call_..." he whispered to me, the sentence making my eyes widen. He was willing to abandon the needy _world_ to be with _me_? My mind was having difficulty wrapping around that process, especially since _I_ was wrapped around _him_ and _he_ was wrapped around _me_ so very _intimately_ at the moment... He drank in the sight of my flushed, disbelieving face before he dropped his head quickly, catching me off guard once again and not giving me time to gain any ground mentally in resisting what he and I both so deeply desired by ravaging my throat with his mouth once again. The wonderful feel made my head loll weakly backward, giving him even better access to make me forget all earthly limitations and restrictions. As my eyes began to close and my self-control began to wither, as his tongue traced my collar bones and dipped down across my heaving chest, as pleasure began to gain momentum within my mind and the room began to fill up with suffocatingly seductive liquid once again... I managed to notice the light of the awakened laptop, almost by accident. First, I turned away and tried to forget the sight of it, tried to focus on the feel of L's mouth against my skin... But I couldn't take it back. I'd seen it – the laptop was still there, still waiting...

As much as I was reluctant to admit it, I knew I wouldn't feel right if something terrible happened because L and I weren't paying any attention to the outside word. I wouldn't be content with a life being lost because we couldn't control ourselves... I'd known the risks – and the inconveniences – from the beginning, and, though I was far from compliant, I knew I couldn't let that call go ignored. I floundered in the feel of him as he consumed me once again, trying with all I had to return to some level of coherency and reinstate the importance of the beeping laptop, that stupid machine that seemed so insignificant and annoying... No, it was important. _Important_. Something was _wrong_ or _dangerous_. We _had_ to help. I _had_ to _try_...

"...L," I whispered, knowing my voice betrayed my reluctance to stop him but also knowing that it was necessary. I didn't dare inject more feeling or volume into my tone, knowing it would most likely fail in deterring him and would probably only succeed in encouraging him even further. The thought laid its roots within my mind – him being encouraged, him taking it further, him doing _everything I'd ever wanted_ – and it twisted and grew into a mighty, throbbing tree of feverish fantasies and tantalizingly delicious dreams that I knew were actually just within my grasp if I only allowed the laptop, beyond irksome, to go alight and unnoticed in the dark behind us... _Ugh_. Even my quiet, whispering tone seemed to cause a tangible change in his behavior, as if my breathlessness was an irresistible reason to continue. I was initially frustrated, with myself and with him, but it was quickly being devoured by escalating pleasure as he chose to continue to ignore the bothersome, interrupting machine and my pleas for him not to do so. Though he gave no verbal indication that he had heard me speak his name, I knew that he had. Instead of trying to persuade me otherwise with words, he simply let his maddening, ravenous mouth against my receptive skin speak for him. And _**damn**_ it was persuasively eloquent.

His lips became even more fervent than before, almost ferocious against my neck, his impeccable abilities driving me wild as he exhibited new levels of determination and tried to make me as willing to forget the computer as he was. ..._Ooooh my God_... My fingers began to knot in his hair, my breathing becoming even more shallow and throaty. A short, strangled groan rippled from my chest as I continued to lose our sinfully-delicious battle. I hadn't expected to have any inclination to resist what he and I both so deeply and so hungrily desired, but I guess that made it interesting... The challenge each of us presented to the other was undeniably alluring, and I knew, despite our colliding views of the laptop, we were both immensely enjoying this. I tried not to smile and failed, my resolve weakening each second. I tried desperately to focus on why the previously-beeping computer was so important. Surely there was a reason..? Many people could be in danger... and his fingertips were slipping teasingly beneath my bra-strap...and many lives could be at stake... and his open mouth was making its steady way up my throat toward mine... Oh, I wouldn't be able to take _that_.

The knowledge of how disastrous a kiss would be to my laptop-attending endeavor helped renew the spark of my dwindling resistance, helping my determination rise higher and grow stronger. I withdrew my fingers reluctantly from his hair and attempted to draw myself backward away from him. I knew, so close and so entwined with the man I loved, my moral fiber hardly stood a chance – my legs were wrapped around his limber waist and my arms were locked around his lowered neck, and that wasn't helping me at all. I had to get away just enough to think clearly. Predictably, he didn't let me retreat without a fight. When his lips tried to follow me, the feel of his breath against the feverish skin of my throat quickening, I inhaled a quiet, uneven suck of air in slight panic and managed to swiftly yet gently cover his mouth with my hand, halting his advances and giving myself a moment or two for attempting to think with remote clarity.

..._Thank God_... I exhaled heavily, as if I'd been holding my breath, and took a split second to compose myself further before meeting L's gaze and attempting to convey the seriousness of the call that he was trying to ignore. He stared at me, waiting. There was something in his eyes, a curious expectancy toward what I would do. It was wickedly laced with a flaming, black, and daring mischievousness that made my blood swirl with heat and coolness at the same time, seeing as I could tell he was thinking of something – something that would no doubt be fantastically wonderful for me but terribly destructive for my laptop-answering venture. I could almost see the smile that I was probably covering up with my hand as it glistened with promise in his endlessly-captivating eyes. I opened my mouth quickly, attempting to speak and reach his professional investigator side while I was still somewhat coherent, but he shot that plan to hell when he slid his tongue across the palm of my hand, nimbly tracing numerous circles of various sizes into my skin and making my breath catch in my throat. I hadn't been expecting that, the hot arousing wetness, and I knew it was unfortunately visible in my expression. My weakness was clear, especially when I didn't speak and instead settled for allowing him to trail his tongue across my wrist and gently suck my fingertips as well. Sensual sparks shot through my brain and a betraying moan of pleasure slipped from between my lips.

My body began to slacken in surrender, my clenched and determinedly-muscled resistance beginning to drip out of my desperate grasp. My hand slid down his neck and fell against his chest, his heart beating vividly beneath my palm, his skin so warm and smooth, almost slick now... I was losing our war – and part of me didn't care. Part of me was entirely fine with it. Part of me was actually _hoping_ I lost, screaming at me to fall against him now and let him lay me back onto the bed, finally defeated. Part of me was begging me to let him come to me, to surrender beneath him and fully embrace him and return his affections with all I had within me like every cell of my body wished to do. Part of me was pleading for me to forget the machines, forget the world, forget everything but him – and to finally lie there, blissfully exhausted and damp with sweat and softly gasping beside him, victorious in all that was love. And I almost gave into that part. I almost did everything it – and I – wanted to do. The other part of me was having one hell of a time remembering what it was fighting for, especially since L, the usual soldier of justice, was currently focusing on another cause – me.

His mouth met mine, suddenly and powerfully, and I melted.

I melted and sank and smiled.

And I came so close.

I almost lost the battle.

L began to lower me onto the bed, his smooth, strong body curling slowly downward with a sort of anticipating confidence, knowing he had almost won – and he would have, if the three mechanical notes hadn't rung out a second time.

I jumped against L in surprise, truly not expecting such an occurrence, cutting off our kiss with a startled gasp. Wait, had that really just happened..? _Yes, it did... _We had been so distracted with each other that it had been necessary to call him _**again**_. I couldn't deny that I was embarrassed by that thought – thrilled and eager and excited, but also undoubtedly embarrassed. My shame helped rekindle some of my abandoned self-control, fortifying me more securely for another of his sensual assaults. I'd made the world call _twice_ – and that just wasn't acceptable. That was enough of a push to rebuild an adequate amount of moral fiber and to get my mind a little more logical. Not wasting any coherency, I placed my hand firmly against his bare chest and used it to draw back away from him just enough to get a sensible amount of space between our lips.

"L, _please_. They called _twice_...They _need_ you..." I murmured breathlessly in an attempt to persuade him before he had a chance to sweep me off my feet again. (Granted, my feet hadn't touched the floor for quite a few minutes now anyway, but that was beside the point.) The second series of the laptop's beeps had been just the wake-up call I'd needed to remind him how important it was that he answer his own call, just like he had every time before. I only hoped my words would be adequate enough to save the world. I held my breath while I waited for his response, concerned because of the silence stretching between us. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked up at him.

I stifled a gulp at the look he was giving me, a gaze still wrapped up in our desires as sure as we were wrapped around each other at the moment, overflowing with a heartfelt promise of searing intensity, but I was very relieved to see the familiar presence of deductive reasoning that I knew so well. He was truly giving what I had said some serious thought, now that I had managed to form a coherently reasonable sentence accompanied by the audible evidence of the laptop in the other room, refusing to be forgotten as it gleamed, alone in the dark. I refrained from sighing heavily with relief like I wished to, knowing it would probably breeze across his skin and coolly kiss the sweat at his chest and neck in a far-too-distracting manner. I was coming close to winning now, and I didn't want to mess it up after all the monumental effort I'd put into resisting him.

He continued to stare at me, peering with heated contemplation through the ragged strands of his long, dark hair, his large black eyes sharply taking in the pleading look in my own, wide and glazed. And finally, his face seemed to soften. He released a small sigh of resignation, his reluctance to comply being slightly overshadowed by a look of heart-warming fondness. He could see how much it meant to me, for him to stay true to his task in life and for the world to receive the help it needed, and it seemed to change his mind about what was the right thing to do at the moment. An acquiescent smile curled his lovely pale lips, his stubbornness finally yielding in part for the love he had for me. I smiled in return, knowing my heart was filled with the same golden and glittering devotion toward him and feeling so wonderfully fulfilled to have him care for me so much. I was also slightly apologetic, to him as well as to myself, for delaying the fulfillment of our desires this evening despite its necessity, and I hoped my apology would be sufficient in assuring him of just how much I regretted opposing him and just how very much I wanted him in return. Fortunately, it seemed to be just enough.

L's smile widened at my expression, any necessary words conveyed through our faces in the silence, and he finally drew back away from the surface of the bed. He held me close as his versatile body straightened slightly once again, careful not to drop me as he turned back toward the open doorway behind us. I could see the laptop flickering easily now, my view of it unobscured and unopposed. The path to it was clear, and it almost seemed to glow more brightly in the giddy knowledge that it was about to be answered. I smiled, beginning to disentangle myself from L and stand on my own two feet, as unfavored as such a position was at the moment. I paused when I met resistance – he wasn't letting me go. I glanced up at him curiously, though his ragged black hair shielded his eyes and his thoughts from my view. His lips were verging on some indecipherable smile, a very confusing expression.

"L, we must become more presentable before we respond to your call," I murmured with an air of caution, very curious as to what thoughts were currently occupying his intelligent mind. Surely he had realized that it would be much easier for me to dress myself in my clothing once again and return to a socially-acceptable state if he would lower me to the floor and allow me to retrieve my scattered garb? I stared up at him inquisitively, watching him tilt his head ever so slightly toward the pile of our discarded clothing, a few feet away from the table on which the laptop resided, and then slowly turn back to me. He was thinking of something, and I was starting to worry. Had he realized just how much he didn't like me getting redressed at this time and rebelled against our wordless agreement that we'd made only a few moments before to respond to his urgent summoning? Where on earth were his thoughts taking him?

"L?" I asked, my tone betraying my fears of my computer-answering progress being undone. We were so close now – surely it wouldn't be for naught after all of my fuss and all of his acceptance? Finally, I received a response, though it wasn't quite the one I'd been hoping for. First, it seemed to be going well; his grip on me slackened slightly in a way that allowed me to uncurl my arms and legs from around him a little, though his arms still kept me carefully supported. Then, things got slightly concerning once again. I waited a moment, glancing toward the floor to know where to put my feet so that I wouldn't fall, but he didn't lower me to the ground like I had expected. It would be awkward and potentially dangerous if I attempted to get free on my own and leap out of his arms somehow at this point. My brow furrowing in cautious confusion, I glanced up at him once again. His head tilted a little more in response to my unasked questions, allowing his hair to loll to the side just enough to let me glimpse one of his eyes. As I tried to process the possibly-answering look he was giving me, his lips completed his expression by curling into a wicked smile and bringing his eyes to flaming black life. I almost squeaked with fear, though I didn't even have time to do that if I had wanted to.

His arms tightened around me, gripping my waist and back almost roughly and securing me in his grasp, holding me in recklessly stirring proximity and not giving me the reason to clutch him close for support. He controlled my disengagement from our embrace at that moment, my arms and legs slightly flaccid as he hugged my body close to his and began to lower me toward the floor – but it wasn't that simple, or merciful. He was sure to thoroughly slide the front of my body against his in all of the right places. Even if I was being placed on my own two feet like I expected, he certainly wasn't making it easy on me or letting me go without having his way about it.

"_L_..." I whispered softly, both asking him to cease for the sake of my justifiable sanity and begging him to continue for my searing desires at the same time. I couldn't refrain from releasing a deep, shivering gasp as my eyes slipped closed and my lips parted, his skin moving against mine in a way that I was certain I would never be able to forget. My warm hands flew to him in need of support, not in the sense of physical balance but in the sense of needing something tangible to hold onto and attempt to recall the current, real situation and control myself. I gripped his biceps tightly, trying to refrain from grabbing his face and pulling it down to mine. I tried to hold myself together as I shook further and further apart. I tried to keep my tongue from slipping out of my mouth and tasting the sweat dappling his smooth, pale chest, _so close_... I tried to focus on the fact that my feet were nearing the floor, that I would soon be able to stand on my own and hopefully extricate myself from his heady, knee-weakening, maddening embrace...

"_L!_" I gasped raggedly with an utter lack of control, my entire world seeming to rock and smolder when he suddenly stopped sliding me downward as I had expected and instead seized my hips, grinding them against his and making me smother a rising scream into his chest. I felt him shudder, felt his breath hitch tangibly in his throat as he sucked in a quick, uncontrolled gasp of air. My hands scrambled against his front and shoulders, trying desperately to find anything at all to hold onto, wrapping chaotically around his neck. My legs kicked uselessly in open air for a long, stretching moment or two. My eyes bulged widely, their surfaces glossy with drowning pleasure. He didn't snatch me up like I had admittedly expected. Instead, he used just enough of a stirring, downward push on my hips to break my weakened grip around him and let me slide the rest of the way down to the floor. My feet contacting the carpet startled me, and my mind was so twisted by pleasure, I was unable to even think about how to stand properly. I collapsed against him, falling thoughtlessly into the support of his arms and shuddering against his warm flesh.

My entire head seemed to pound for a moment or two as my heart moaned, the air around me humming hotly when a delicious chuckle poured from his throat. He gently stroked the back of my head, allowing me to feel the beads of sweat shift against my scalp as his hand traveled lower and began to absently play with my long, tangled hair. His other hand curled around my waist, simply supporting me and allowing me to recover. He then took a tender hold on my shoulders and pulled me upright in front of him, keeping me steady when I swayed. Oh, I couldn't _believe_ him... And I thought that statement with both frustrated and grateful awe. I sighed, brushing my hair out of my face and attempting to regulate my jagged breathing and keep my legs from giving out. His hand curled beneath my chin, coaxing my face up to his. I looked up at him through the long strands of hair that I had missed with large, glistening eyes, my tingling lips parted to allow my shallow gasps through.

He stared back at me with a similarly disheveled appearance, wordlessly assuring me that I certainly wasn't alone in my state of passionate and conflicted bliss. When his wide, gleaming black eyes gazed so deeply into mine through the obscuring fringe of his ragged hair, their depths expressively alive with such heart-warming and stirring ardor, I couldn't prevent the loving smile that curled my lips. He smiled as well, leaning forward to press a delicate kiss against my mouth. It made my breath shiver in my lungs, the simplicity and blissfulness of it in stark contrast to the previous displays of affection and, in that way, unexpectedly appealing. My fingers twitched as I fought to control myself and not leap back up into his arms where I so wished to be. My attention was drawn even further away from coherent thoughts when he gave me yet another ridiculously-tender kiss and let his mouth linger on mine for a moment before he spoke to me in a low, captivating whisper.

"_Time to answer the call_..."

I couldn't deny that actually diverting my focus to the laptop now, after what he'd done, seemed hardly worth the effort. But I knew this was what a part of me wanted. I knew answering the call was the right thing to do. It was just that the other part was screaming, and the wrong thing to do seemed _so right_... There was a brief pause, in which his words hung in the air and we both waited to see if either of us would just cave and forget the computer and tackle the other to the ground. The thought made my body tense and his black eyes flash. And yet, it seemed that we had reached a wordless agreement. Now that we had restrained ourselves, we might as well have done what we'd stopped to do, right? And that's what we did. He curled an arm around my waist and led me easily over to the computer, the air cold against my uncovered skin as we moved, making me keep close to him for warmth. We stood together behind the machine, out of its sight. He maneuvered his arm around the edge of the laptop from the back and clicked a key or two to reawaken the appliance and open the communication line once again.

"Yes? What is it, Watari?" he asked curiously as he walked away from the computer and pulled me along with him toward our pile of discarded clothing. It would be proper to get dressed before appearing visibly on the laptop's screen, but the call could have been urgent enough that it couldn't wait any longer for formality and acceptability. So we would answer out of sight until we were presentable. I felt exhilarated and giddy as he stooped to lift our clothing off of the floor, the hand that he'd placed around my waist sliding down and back up my leg throughout his movements and making me tremble.

"L, my goodness. Is everything all right?" Watari's voice traveled to our ears from the computer a few feet behind us. The concern in his voice almost made me wince a little, reminding me of how irresponsible I'd been. Hopefully he wouldn't be too angry and the case wouldn't be too important... I stood, glancing at the computer with a worried expression for a moment, clutching my shirt and pants against my chest. L seemed to be less alarmed than I was. He merely began to pull up his pants while answering simultaneously, raising his voice just enough so that it was clearly audible through the laptop's communication links.

"Yes, Watari. Everything is absolutely fine," he murmured in confident reassurance from where he stood next to me, finishing up with his pants and beginning to maneuver his shirt into a proper position to get it back on his body.

"Then why did you take so long to respond? I've never had to call a second time before...Where are you?" Watari continued, sounding less apprehensively worried and more politely interested now that L had assured him of our well-being. The chair that he could see was still vacant, the responses he was receiving seemingly coming from nowhere. It only made sense for him to wonder what the hell was going on.

"I will be there shortly, Watari, and I apologize for the unacceptable delay. I was incredibly distracted with...another matter," L murmured truthfully, though he smiled when he glanced at me and noticed my blush at his words. To think I could distract the greatest detective in the world – it was certainly a thought worth a happy squeal or two, though of course I knew that now was not the time. I focused on getting dressed and further easing Watari's mind concerning our lack of preparation for his call. I felt a slight reluctance as I straightened my shirt and began to shove my feet through my pant legs. I didn't want to put my clothes back on and I didn't like that L was doing that very thing either, but I did enjoy watching his fluid movements as he pulled the fabrics loosely into place against his body, how his muscles slid easily beneath his smooth, pale skin as he pulled his shirt over his head and around his torso... I just loved watching him – simple as that. I smiled as he pushed some of his chaotic black hair back out of his eyes, just enough so that it looked to be about as messed up as normal. His shirt and jeans were wrinkled and ruffled, but that wasn't anything new, as I had noticed before. This time, I simply smiled wider, knowing I looked somewhat similar and not caring all that much anymore. Because he loved me. And I loved him. And that was more than enough.

When we were finished redressing, L took my hand and the two of us walked over to the chair before the laptop. He took a seat in his usual, well-balanced crouch and I settled once more at his side on the arm of the chair, my hand still resting easily within his.

"Ah, there you are," Watari murmured with pleased relief, his glasses glinting as he smiled at us. I smiled in return, shifting closer to L and waiting to hear what the current case was. I was attentive and rather excited, already examining the possibilities of an upcoming investigation and what would have to be done to solve it.

"Now, I shall explain the reason behind my call. Your help is needed on an international string of serial killings. I have suspect reports, surveillance videos, crime scene images, and background checks on various witnesses involved. I shall send them to you at once," Watari continued, getting right down to business, as was to be expected.

"Thank you, Watari. I shall begin immediately," L responded smoothly, a composed and calculating air settling around him. His tone was focused now, though I thought I detected an undercurrent of reluctance and sadness, as if he wasn't pleased with having a more pressing matter to attend to instead of being with me. I had to admit, I felt similarly, but I was still eager to help him and the innocents involved in the case in any way I could. The computer screen was bombed with various links and files and images, and I felt L's shoulder hunch a little more next to mine. Watari reappeared, making his window move to the very front of the wall of case-related information.

"I'll leave you with that. Please notify me if you require my assistance in any way," he murmured to us, his deep, age-softened voice holding comforting loyalty and reassuring promise. It eased the pain of already having to accept another case even though L had only just returned from the last. Hopefully it would be easier than the Kira investigation – I could only hope, now that it had opened up so many terrible possibilities to what we would face in the future. But Watari's smile was a welcome and wordless reminder of the fact that he and L were certainly still there and certainly still willing to fight with all they had to enforce the safety and strength of justice in the world. I gripped L's hand tighter, and his fingers closed more securely around mine in response.

L nodded in dignified farewell. Watari shifted, as if he were about to terminate the communication link, and then his expression showed signs of some sort of internal conflict. His white eyebrows furrowed slightly, his mustache curving downward with his small frown. Before L and I had time to question him, he spoke, his voice soft and rather hesitant, as if he wasn't entirely sure that what he was saying was proper or acceptable or what he truly meant to say in the first place.

"...And I apologize to you both for imposing upon–"

"It's quite all right, Watari. We're all fully aware of the importance of my occupation," L responded quickly, dismissing the apology and trying to free Watari of any guilt he may have felt regarding the situation. His tone was sure and certain, revealing how he had accepted the way my life would blend with his and every pleasure and pain that would entail to us.

"Yes, but now you are able to be distracted by 'another matter,' and I regret burdening you with yet another case when you've only just returned to her," Watari replied with a small smile that was still slightly apologetic, unable to let go of his intrusion. A tiny glint sparkled in his eyes with his words, one that made my face warm a little when it was once again addressed how I was able to distract L. I had no doubt he knew how very much he distracted me... Watari's concern for our emotions was quite touching, and I felt the need to assuage his displeasure and attempt to remedy the situation. Yes, it was unfortunate that L already had another case, but it wasn't unbearable.

"It's fine, Watari. I knew what getting involved with L would entail, and I eagerly did it anyway. I can honestly say that every bit of it has been worthwhile. Don't think I would give up this life for any other," I murmured honestly, smiling sincerely at the computer screen and watching with pleased relief as his worn, aged face finally relaxed a little from the previously anxious expression.

"Yes, Watari. No one is at fault for what we've all chosen... I'll solve the case, no matter what," L murmured in final agreement, his black eyes solid with his convictions and certainty. He never ceased to amaze me, and it seemed Watari was impressed as well. The elderly man smiled then, a look of pride washing across his face and lightening his eyes. He smiled, chuckling slightly, and nodded approvingly to us.

"I know you will... Goodnight," he finished contentedly. L and I smiled in return, nodding our heads in farewell and watching as the link with Watari closed and left a montage of files and images behind. Though L's determination remained evident in his expression as he crouched more evenly in his chair and pressed his thumb to his lips, using his other hand to begin scrolling through the files with his computer's touchpad, it was clear that he wasn't thrilled about having another case at the moment. His black eyes looked tired, the shadows underneath them seeming even more prominent than before. I smiled fondly at him, sympathizing with his displeasure, and wondered about a way I could make it easier for him. Finding one quickly, I leapt from the arm of the chair and ran into the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" L asked curiously of me from where he still sat in his chair.

"Just getting a little something to help you think better at this ungodly hour," I told him in reply, rummaging around in the fridge and drawing yet another cake out of the cooled plastic interior. It was a glistening caramel beast of a cheesecake, and would hopefully improve his mood and outlook on the case to make him feel better. I kicked the fridge door shut and grabbed two forks out of a drawer, heading back into the living room with my cold, creamy prize held high. I grinned when L's eyes gleamed hungrily at the sight of the treat I was bringing him. I rejoined him at the chair, setting the cake on the table beside the laptop and taking my place on the arm of the chair as I handed him his fork. We dug into the cake and gave appreciative groans of satisfied pleasure as the sugary morsel melted deliciously on our tongues. As I went back for another forkful, L's arm curled around my waist and pulled me sideways once again, making me gasp quietly in surprise even though he was gentler than before. This time, I merely fell into the seat next to him, held comfortably against his side.

I laughed with delight when he turned and smiled at me, revealing that the small wad of cheesecake that I'd managed to get on my fork before he grabbed me had flown and squished against his cheek before falling down onto his leg. I plucked the piece of dessert off of his thigh and popped it into my mouth, chewing happily and making him chuckle quietly with fond amusement. When I'd finished the bite of cheesecake, I used my hand to draw his face down to mine and licked the rich bronze smear of caramel off of his cheek, temptingly close to the corner of his mouth. I felt his arm tighten around me, felt my heart rate immediately quicken, and I realized how I wasn't helping him solve the case at this rate. I began to turn away, to control myself and escape any of his possible retaliations, and I wasn't quick enough. He captured my lips in a sweet, sugary kiss that made me moan with pleasure. _Oh_ _no, come on, this isn't working..._ We separated slowly, his mouth lingering with distracting pressure against mine for a moment before he pulled back. We looked into each other's eyes, seeing the flames beginning to come back to heated life again, and realized that we had to refrain from flirting with temptation if we ever wanted to get the case done.

Realizing our thoughts were the same despite our reluctance, L sighed and turned back to the computer screen while still keeping his arm around me. To prevent him from having to stop using the mouse or stop holding me close, I used my fork and gave him bites of cake at fifteen-second intervals and ate some of it myself in-between his forkfuls. Though the case didn't seem to be at the degree of the Kira investigation, it was still puzzling and engaging. L seemed just as displeased with its possibility of lasting a long time as I was. I thought of a different perspective to keep him motivated and focused.

"L, think of it this way: The sooner you finish the case, the sooner we can _pick up where we left off_..." I murmured, dropping my voice low at the end and trailing my fingernail against his thigh, running it along his leg and drawing an imaginary circle against his folded knee. The clicking of the mouse ceased. I looked up curiously while still attempting to appear flirtatiously coy, and smiled when I saw his mind whirring. His black eyes flashed. Suddenly, he lowered his head and unexpectedly pressed a lovely kiss into my mouth, shocking my blood with the passionate action. He then removed his hand from the mouse and grabbed his discarded fork and impaled the cheesecake, hefting a giant piece onto his eating utensil and miraculously shoving it into his mouth. As he chewed and swallowed quickly, his gaze returned precisely to the computer. And he got to work.

I'd never seen someone solve a case so quickly in my entire life.

Only two mind-bendingly frenzied hours – and the bedroom door was slamming shut behind us.

_(OH – MY – GOD...)_

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**All right, all right! That's it! Woo!**

**I wonder which ending you will all like better... even if it's the one I intended in Chapter 2, this one was still worth writing, just to expand my arsenal as an author. **

**Plus I just love L so much!**

**(snuggles L and squeals happily) 3 3 3**

**As previously stated so many times you're probably annoyed, I'd love feedback on this Alternate ending thing. It would really help me know if I have any hope in writing romances. :)**

**Thank you all again!**

**I've got other projects on the way, so this isn't the last of me. :D**

**Until the next story,**

**~SD**


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